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VENICE 2016 Italy

A new immersive experience at the festival with Jesus VR

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- The festival will host a special 40-minute preview and the world premiere of the first virtual reality feature film to be shot entirely in Italy (in Matera), in 4K 360° with an all-Italian crew

A new immersive experience at the festival with Jesus VR

Enzo Sisti (The Passion of the Christ, 2004) is the executive producer of Jesus VR – The Story of Christ, directed and produced by David Hansen and filmed entirely in Italy, in Matera, in 4K 360° with an all-Italian crew. 

Jesus VR is the first and most ambitious virtual reality feature ever produced, and will be available on all the main virtual reality platforms, including Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear, Oculus Rift, Playstation VR and HTC VIVE, just in time for Christmas. A special 40-minute preview and the world premiere of the film will be screened at the 73rd Venice Film Festival: for four days, from 1 to 4 September, all those with accreditation for the Festival will have the chance to try out this technology, which is revolutionising the visual world, applied to the preview of Jesus VR – The Story of Christ, both for a limited period of time and in full. The screening will be held in the new VR Theater, which has been set up on the second floor of the Casino and kitted out with 50 VR Head Gears for individual viewing on chairs that spin 360°. 

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The film, which has a total running time of 90 minutes, was produced by David Hansen with partners Johnny Mac through Autumn™ VR and VRWERX, which is run by Alex Barder and Russell Naftal. “We’ve very proud of the fact that we shot this innovative film entirely in Italy with a more or less Italian crew” – stated veteran filmmaker Enrico Sisti - “It’s fantastic that the first place we’re screening it is at the fabulous Venice Film Festival”. For Festival director Alberto Barbera, Jesus VR "showcases the narrative and dramatic potential of new technology, which has been limited up until now to short films. The film is particularly pertinent this year, when the reinvented film market, now called the Venice Production Bridge, will present six VR projects in amongst the 40 audiovisual projects seeking funding, together with films, documentaries, TV series and web series. It is a sign of the great focus that the Venice Film Festival places on the large-scale changes that are slowly but surely changing the landscape of film production.”

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(Translated from Italian)

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