CANNES 2016 Market

NEXT presents Fan Club and Next in VR Focus Made in Luxembourg
by Ernesto Leotta

The third edition of NEXT has got under way with a bang, as this year's special guest came into play on the first day: virtual reality (VR).
A brand-new, jam-packed NEXT conference room welcomed the creators of two VR films powered by the Film Fund Luxembourg, as well as none other than the country's prime minister, Xavier Bettel.
The team behind Fan Club came on stage first, recounting the creative process and the challenges they had to face in order to put together this fiction film in virtual reality. "It all started as an experiment," said director Vincent Ravalec."We wanted to explore the many ways in which this new media could tell a story. My background is pretty diverse, as in my life I've been making films, comics and books, as well as working with the students of a video-game school, and I came up with the idea that VR is a combination of different arts: theatre, film and gaming."
A_BAHN producer Stéphane Hueber-Blies went on to break down the main elements that differentiate VR from any other medium. "Point of view is key when thinking of telling a VR story, but Fan Club features a third-person approach, along with the more traditional first-person one; and the body is the ‘co-protagonist’: if watching a 2D film is like following a musical score, living a VR one is like dancing, as your body becomes part of the experience."
Later on, three young storytellers took the microphone to show the audience the country they grew up in and a couple of failed attempts at getting the attention of their producers, via an entertaining series of slides. "‘Next’ is what we used to hear when showing our previous projects, and it is now the title of our interactive VR film," said screenwriter Frederic Zeimet. "What pushed us towards its direction was the viewer's freedom: in VR, they no longer have to follow the director's subjective view, as they can now trigger the action by simply turning their head around."
But empathy is crucial in order to keep the audience engaged, as director Olivier Pesch wisely pointed out. A VR project must provide the viewer with a backstory, an identity and a relationship with the other characters, who will interact with the viewer and acknowledge their presence for the duration of the film. "Otherwise, the 'Swayze' effect is just around the corner," joked Zeimet. "Remember that scene from Ghost where Swayze stares at the people on the underground but they can't see him because he’s dead? That's exactly what might happen to the viewer: watching the action without being a part of it."

The return of NEXT: The programme of the third edition revealed
Another year, another Cannes – and another opportunity to dive into the newest and most alternative forms of storytelling at the NEXT Pavilion, a one-of-a-kind hub for everyone interested in the future of film, showcasing projects, pitching sessions and talks by the industry movers and shakers.
All you need is a Market badge and accommodation in Cannes from 12-19 May in order to make the most out of the third edition of NEXT, which this year takes place in a bigger pavilion (n° 201), complete with a sea view.
The main highlight for 2016 is a virtual-reality (VR) movie theatre, dedicated to the market screenings of full VR films for 30 people. VR experiences will also be accessible every day at the NEXT VR showroom. It is thus safe to say that virtual reality will be a key issue this year, with VR talks scattered throughout the NEXT week and a conference about the Oculus Story Studio scheduled for the second day.
But it doesn't stop there, of course: NEXT will also delve into the realms of VoD (IPEDA will hold a conference about “Digital Marketing for VoD Distribution” on Saturday 14th), audience engagement (insights will be offered by Europa Cinemas on Tuesday 17th), financing (a panel courtesy of Wallimage Creative on the same day) and much more.
Here is a list of NEXT's guests for this edition: Cineuropa, Adastra Films, Agit Prog, B3 Biennial of the Moving Image, Cinando, Cross Video Days, CtrlMovie, the Tous Ecrans Film Festival, FilmDoo, Film265, the IDFA, IPEDA, PICKUP, The Festival Agency, TimeTonic, The R/O Institute and Wallimage.

First-ever Virtual Reality Days programme to take place at Cannes Film Market
by Cineuropa

21/04/2016 - CANNES NEXT: Virtual reality is the central theme of the third edition of NEXT – the Cannes Film Market pavilion dedicated to the future of cinema
The third edition of the Cannes Film Market's NEXT Pavilion, dedicated to the future of cinema, will run for seven days (from 12-18 May), this year with an expanded venue and a special emphasis on virtual reality. The first-ever VR Days at NEXT in Cannes, which will take place on 15 and 16 May, will screen more than 35 VR films coming from all around the world – an incredible variety that, according to Michel Reilhac, artistic consultant for the VR Days at NEXT, shows "the birth of VR as new media accessible to everyone" and marks the creation of an interactive storytelling experience, as "the spectator experiences empathy with the story, where the story becomes a total experience".
Here is the 2016 VR Days NEXT programme:
Canadian Genre – VR Film Series:
Body/Mind/Change Redux Teaser – J. Lee Williams, Blair Renaud
Producer: Ana Serrano (CFC Media Lab Production)
Technolust: the short film – Blair Renaud
Producer: J. Lee Williams (OccupiedVR Production)
The Closet – Ian Tuason
Producer: Ana Serrano (CFC Media Lab Production)
War of the Dead – Brian Rice, Tristan Cezair, Andrew MacDonald
Producer: Kim Creelman
Made in USA VR, a US VR Focus presented by Furious M.:
Invasion ! – Eric Darnell
Producer: Maureen Fan (Baobab Studios)
Repensando a Cuba – Gabriel Lifton-Zoliine, Angel Manuel Soto
Producer: Gabriel Lifton-Zoline (RYOT)
The Second Line: A Parade Against Violence – Angel Manuel Soto, Matt Ogens
Production company: RYOT & AP
RYOT 360 Reel
Production company: RYOT
Butts: the VR Experience – Tyler Hurd
Producer: Tyler Hurd
Defrost Episode 1: The Awakening – Randal Kleiser
Producers: Tanna Frederick, Randal Kleiser (Feral Dog Productions, Randal Kleiser Productions, 3Ality Technica, IM360, Furious M)
Defrost Episode 2: The Best Care – Randal Kleiser
Producers: Tanna Frederick, Randal Kleiser (Feral Dog Productions, Randal Kleiser Productions, 3Ality Technica, IM360, Furious M)
Two VR programmes made in France presented by ARTE and Unifrance:
SENS – Charles Ayats, Armand Lemarchand, Marc-Antoine Mathieu
Producer: Marie Blondiaux (RED Corner)
Notes on Blindness – Arnaud Colinart, Amaury La Burthe, Peter Middleton, James Spinney
Production company: AGAT Films
Jours de tournage – Ma Loute de Bruno Dumon – Fouzi Louahem
Producer: Editions du Bout des Doigts
I, Philip – Pierre Zandrowicz
Production company: Okio
Jet Lag – Pierre Friquet
Production company: Enfin Bref Productions
Viens! – Michel Reilhac
VR films from Quebec, Canada, presented by SODEC and PHI CENTRE, in collaboration with the QUÉBEC FILM AND TELEVISION COUNCIL:
Nomads: Sea Gypsies – Félix Lajeunesse, Paul Raphaël
Producer: Stéphane Rituit (Felix & Paul Studios)
LeBron James: Striving for Greatness – Félix Lajeuness, Paul Raphaël
Producer: Stéphane Rituit (Felix & Paul Studios)
Inside the Box of Kurios – Félix Lajeunesse, Paul Raphaël, Michel Laprise
Producers: Stéphane Rituit (Felix & Paul Studios), André Lauzon (Cirque du Soleil Média)
“O” (Teaser) – Félix Lajeunesse, Paul Raphaël / François Blouin
Producer: Stéphane Rituit (Felix & Paul Studios)
Made in Denmark VR, Two VR projects presented by Makropol:
Ewa (Pilot) – Johan Knattrup Jensen
Producers: Mads Damsbo, Jakob Hegel (MAKROPOL, Meta Film)
The Doghouse – Johan Knattrup Jensen
Producers: Mads Damsbo (MAKROPOL, Dark Matters and Kanako)
VR DOCUMENTARIES, a selection of VR documentaries curated by IDFA Doc Lab – International Documentary Festival Amsterdam:
DOC Program 1:
Waves of Grace – Gabo Arora, Chris Milk
Production company: VRSE
Drawing Room – Jan Rothuizen, Sara Kolster
Witness 360:7/7 – Darren Emerson
Doc Program 2:
6 X 9 an immersive experience of solitary confinement – Francesca Panetta, Lindsay Poulton
Producer: Francesca Panetta (The Guardian)
My Mother’s Wing – Gabo Arora, Ari Palitz
Production company: VRSE
DMZ: Memories of No Man’s Land – Hayoun Kwon
Production company: Innerspace VR
LoVR – Aaron Bradbury
NEXT VR Focus, A special NEXT program curated by Michel Reilhac, NEXT’s artistic consultant:
Simon – James Hedley
Fabulous wonder.land – Toby Coffey
Amani – Raymond Van Der Kaaij
Production: Submarine and Terre des Hommes
Sonar – Philip Maas
Summertime – Nir Sa'ar
Producers: Tal Haring, Inbal Shirin Anlen, Adi Lavy (Steamer Lab & Green Productions)
Fan Club (teaser) – Vincent Ravalec
Production company: a_Bahn

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