‘Summation of Force’.
Two Australian projects, Summation of Force and Lynette Wallworth’s Awavena, have been selected for the 2018 Sundance Film Festival as part of the New Frontier program, which focuses on experimental work in VR, AR, mixed reality (MR) and AI.
Summation of Force, from Adelaide’s Closer Productions and Jumpgate VR, follows two brothers playing a game of cricket in a moonlit backyard, and is described as “an immersive study of the moon, physics and psychology of elite sport.” The work, which opened this year’s Adelaide Film Festival, is the creation of photographers Trent Parke and Narelle Autio in collaboration with filmmaker Matthew Bate (Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure, I Want to Dance Better at Parties, Sam Klemke’s Time Machine).
Bate told IF that Summation of Force had been a labour of love for all involved, so to have it selected for the cutting edge New Frontier program was an honour.
“It’s going to be interesting to see what the American audiences are going to make of an immersive artwork about cricket! That said, the piece uses cricket as a metaphor, and moves from the suburban backyard into the cosmos and back again – so it’s sport, but as you’ve never seen it before,” he said.
Wallworth’s Awavena is a follow up to project Collisions, which also premiered in Sundance’s New Frontier program in 2016. It follows the Yawanawa, an indigenous Amazonian people, who see immersive technologies as tools they can use to share their view of the world. Wallworth was invited to their community and the Yawanawa share with her the visions of Hushahu, their first woman Shaman.
Sundance Film Festival runs January 18-28, 2018.