Conceived as an event both in La Rochelle and online, the just-closed Fifth Edition of PiXii Festival held under the 32nd edition of Sunny Side of The Doc – La Rochelle’s international documentaries and narrative experiences marketplace – showcased the best global innovations in service of heritage.
Jean Macchalot, Director of StoryLab XR at France Télévisions, presents the Lady Sapiens Experience © Jean-François Augé – STUDIO OUEST
Five emblematic places in La Rochelle, from June 19 to 24, presented ten experiences developed using virtual reality, augmented reality and spatial sound technologies.
Through these experiences, the public has benefited from privileged access to heritage sites such as the Museum of Natural History, the Museum of the New World or the Chen Tower (Centre des Monuments Nationaux). The festival also introduced intangible access via the VeeR platform, which scored nearly 20,000 views of all XR films in the official selection.
The PiXii Festival has also brought together key players in the XR space to explore the future of storytelling, stimulate innovative thinking and generate new collaborations….
The hybridization was part of a professional conference program that specifically showcased a better understanding of the challenges of XR production and distribution. From this perspective, there has been talk of production on mobile, in the presence of CNC, TikTok and Arte, or even profitability of immersive installations in the context of location-based entertainment (LBE). The examples of PHI’s “Infinite” or even “Lady Sapiens, Virtual Reality Experience” perfectly illustrate the importance of collaboration between producers and broadcasters or exhibitors, and sometimes the involvement of third parties, right from the point of writing. This approach will facilitate the emergence of viable economic models, which are still rare …
“Following our common thread #StorytellingMatters for months, we have heeded this call to decipher the complexities of our world, to this need to bring the international documentary community together. This is reflected in our selective and renewed track record, the majority of female participation (58.5%), and in the commitments in terms of parity we have made ourselves at the Next Generation Equality Forum”, confirms Matteo Pego, Director of Strategy and Development at Sunny Side of The Doc.
“We are pleased with the success that the PiXii Festival has had with the general public, both in the cultural venues of La Rochelle but also in the online video library. This 5e Maturity edition and renewed ambitions. But our biggest ambition is of course to be able to welcome, from 20 to 23 June 2022, all professionals in this sector, “in real life” in La Rochelle!“in conclusion.
The award-winning immersive projects on the Sunny Side of Doc 2021…
The best immersive experience
Noire
Produced by: Novaa (France)
Directed by: Stéphane Funkinos, Pierre-Alain Giroud
Award sponsored by Ubisoft
Endowment: 3000 EUR
The members of the jury decided to choose Noire for the following reasons:
– Augmented reality storytelling is still fairly new, and tribute/storytelling lends itself well to harnessing this new technology. With this award, we want to show our confidence to help them excel in this field.
– The cinematic / scenery frame looks very promising.
– The famous sound designer takes care of the unique 3D sound.
– There is already a professional team with experience in theatrical performance and storytelling via HoloLens. “, Explains the jury.
Grand Prix Pixel
Lady sapiens experience
Produced by: Little Big Story (France)
Co-production: Ubisoft, France Télévisions (France)
Author: Camille Duvelroy
Technology: Virtual Reality
Prize: €2000
“We, the jury, discriminate wise lady Because the work better combines storytelling with artistic value, and masterfully uses digital technology to create an immersive and memorable experience, while maintaining a balance between the arts and sciences on the one hand, and education and entertainment on the other.”
