IMMERSIVE HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARIES

Several historical documentaries, based on heartbreaking human experience and memories of last century were shown at Immersive Island during Veice Biennale. That's unbelievable experience for the spectators. And something absolutely new in the perspective of presentation of historical research.

Venice Immersive is the Extended Reality section of the 80th Venice International Film Festival of La Biennale di Venezia.

Letters from Drancy - Darren Emerson

Letters from Drancy is a poignant virtual reality experience that illuminates the power of an unbreakable bond between a mother and her daughter during the Holocaust. Filmed on location in Paris and Normandy in France, Letters from Drancy allows audiences to accompany Marion Deichmann on her daring childhood journey across the borders of Northern Europe, her heartbreaking separation from her mother, her escape with help from the French Resistance in Paris, and her vivid memories of the D-Day bombings in Normandy. Marion’s story is full of loss and longing, but also of the persevering love that endures throughout her life. It is a profound story of courage from those who selflessly offer humanity in the face of hatred.

Darren Emerson:

«When I first met Marion in Chicago in 2022 I was instantly captivated by her incredible story. What struck me straight away was her elegance and poise, her ability to communicate her childhood recollections with nuance and clarity. Most of all I was struck by the incredible love and connection Marion still had with her mother Alice, with whom she was separated over eighty years ago. In many ways Letters from Drancy is a universal love story about the bonds we forge with those that are forever part of us. It is about loss, courage, resilience, acceptance, and forgiveness. It has been an honour and privilege for everyone involved to tell Marion’s story, and an experience I will never forget.»

TALES OF THE MARCH - Stefano Casertano

In the winter between 1944 and 1945, the SS forced some 700,000 prisoners to leave the concentration camps and walk towards Germany. This historical tragedy has been the last act of the Holocaust and it is known as the “Death Marches”. VR experience Tales of the March invites the viewer to become a witness of a march, portrayed as a fiction story based on the accounts of some survivors. Our protagonist, Eithan, is seen walking in a column, as he survives the abuses of the soldiers, until he is finally freed in a forest. But is this a true liberation? Possibly, the shadows of the camps will stay in Eithan’s soul for all his life. Tales of the March is not only a homage to the victims and survivors of the marches, but also a virtual source of documentation, presenting documents, videos and photos presented on a virtual exhibition than can be visited after the narrative part.

Stefano Casertano:

As Eithan is marching in the column, the viewer perceives a clear sense of “direction” in the 360-degree video. The marchers come from the end of the road, and move to the other end. But as Eithan is freed, the scene opens up all around—a scene of desolation, desperation, turning then into hope and memory. But in this final act there is no clear sense of direction, as to represent that—for many prisoners—being liberated did not mean being free. For this purpose, we have been using VR in its full extent as a media language, leveraging the “direction” of the shots as a true dramaturgic element. I believe it is of pivotal importance to develop a VR language capable of conveying also stories of this kind, in order to be able to report about historical facts and tragedies. Now that the last survivors of the Holocaust are leaving us, we have to make sure that these stories can reach younger audiences and will never be forgotten—now that memory is becoming history.

COMFORTLESS - Gina Kim

In 1969, a brothel was established exclusively for the US military near the US Air Force Base in Kunsan, South Korea. About 500 residential units were built and “American Town” corporation was established with approval and support from the Korean government. The women recruited from all over the country were called “US military comfort women” by the authorities. American Town grew to be a small self-sustaining city that provided US soldiers with whatever convenience they desired: currency exchange, culinary pleasures, and sex. One thousand American soldiers visited every night. Shot on the actual site, Comfortless is a 360-3D cinematic immersive experience of American Town during its heyday in the 1980s. The VR film starts in the present time, where the town is empty and silent. When the night falls, however, various sounds from the past begin to fill the space. Viewers traverse this uncanny deserted town, guided by a ghost and the ambient sounds and voices from its past. Comfortless offers an immersive experience of the daily routine of American Town, creating an essential archive of the past.

Gina Kim:

During pre-production for Comfortless, American Town was designated a redevelopment area. The brothels were the first to be demolished. Our project became a race against time to archive this history. Ironically, on the day we wrapped production, the South Korean Supreme Court announced its final verdict on a lawsuit filed by the women from the US military camp towns. The judgement acknowledged the government’s responsibility and awarded compensation, pointedly using the term “US military comfort women.” After five decades, these women’s voices were finally heard. In their honour, this VR aims to bring forward the voices and experiences of these women while they are still alive.