James R | On 30, Sep 2017

The Raindance Film Festival has announced the winners for its first ever VRX Awards.

With the 25th edition coming to a close on Sunday, the Festival received a record-breaking number of submissions from over 200 countries, the highest it has received to date, including features, shorts, webfest, VR and music videos.

The awards, which were handed out at The Mayfair Hotel in London last night, mark the festival’s continuing embrace of virtual reality and other new media. This year saw the introduction of the Raindance VRX Summit and VRX Market alongside its VR Arcade, now in its second year. The Summit, held in partnership with Facebook 360, saw experts teach filmmakers the latest in VR technology as well as showcased the world premiere of the world’s first AR experimental short film.

Eugene Chung won The Special Prize for Best Storytelling in Virtual Reality for Arden’s Wake, about a young woman who lives with her father in a lighthouse perched atop the endless sea. Best Cinematic Narrative VR Experience went to Alteration, which sees Alexandro volunteer for an experiment carried out to study dreams in this poetic trip into the future. He can’t imagine that he will be subjected to the intrusion of Elsa, a form of Artificial Intelligence who aims to digitise his subconscious and feed off of it – a vampire, bit by megabit.

Best Interactive Narrative VR Experience went to Manifest 99, an ominous and eerie story about finding redemption in the afterlife, with viewers helping four companions on their journey to their final destination.

Hosted by Raindance Founder, Elliot Grove, jury member Treva Etienne (Terminator: Salvation) was also in attendance to present an award to the winners, as was Johanna von Fischer (director of British Independent Film Awards 2006 – 2015) and Rosa Bosch (producer at B&W Films). A who’s who of VR visionaries also presented awards, including Reshu Sidhu of Framestore and Sol Rogers – BAFTA VR executive. Jury members included Sean Bean, Christopher Ecclestone, Celia Imrie, Neil Marshall, Jack O’Connell, Rachel Portman and Debbie Wiseman.

You can still catch Raindance’s VR Arcade, which showcases its award nominees, this weekend, with two-hour slots available throughout Saturday 30th August at London’s Hospital Club. For tickets, click here – and for the full list of VR winners, read on below.

The 2017 Raindance Film Festival runs until Sunday 1st October at Vue West End, with Michael Berry’s Stuck closing the festival.

RAINDANCE VRX AWARD Winners

Best Interactive Narrative VR Experience
Manifest 99

Best Mobile Interactive VR Experience
Virtual Virtual Reality

Best Cinematic Narrative VR Experience
Alteration

Best Documentary VR Experience
First Impressions

Best Animation VR Experience
Dear Angelica

Best Music VR Experience
Beethoven’s Fifth

Best Branded VR Experience
The Chainsmokers: Paris

Best Sensual VR Experience
Through You

Best Social Impact VR Experience
Munduruku: The Fight to Defend the Heart of the Amazon

Best Sound Design VR Experience
Reeps One: Does Not Exist

Special Prize: Best Storytelling in Virtual Reality
Arden’s Wake

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