Goethe Zentrum and Annapurna film school present an interactive virtual reality film festival in Hyderabad

An image from ‘MLK: Now is the Time’
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Martin Luther King Jr’s iconic 1963 speech ‘I Have a Dream’ and his work highlighting systemic inequalities is the theme of the 16-minute English short film MLK: Now is the Time by Fabian Limbert. Imagine moving that narrative forward by playing a game even while viewing the film. Using virtual reality, the viewing experience becomes interactive and thereby, immersive. 

Movie lovers in Hyderabad can now experience this film and a few other titles, in VR (virtual reality) mode at the ongoing film festival ‘Vroooom: A Virtual Reality Film Experience’, organised by Goethe Zentrum Hyderabad and Annapurna College of Film and Media.

At the Hamburg Hall, Goethe-Zentrum Hyderabad premises in Banjara Hills, the festival is free and open to all, this week. The enthusiasm for this festival is evident when I walk in on a weekday morning. The hall has different counters corresponding to the six titles available for viewing. Students from the acting department of Annapurna College of Film and Media are game to guide visitors to ensure a smooth viewing experience. 

The films are divided into three categories — Up in the Air (taking viewers on a soaring journey akin to flying), Stories of Mankind (a contemporary reinterpretation of tales and myths) and Back to the Future (understanding history to help viewers get an insight into social and political issues).

I began my VR film-viewing journey with Conquest of the Skies. As I get comfortable with the VR headset, I am transported to the world of how insects, birds and even reptiles have defied gravity to take to the skies, as David Attenborough narrates the history of evolution and the aerodynamics of wings and feathers.

The film school students highly recommended the animation film Reimagined Volume II: Mahal but since I spotted a few students waiting for their turn, I opted for their other recommendation, MLK: Now is the Time. This interactive VR film is divided into different chapters and requires us, the viewers, to participate to take the narrative forward. 

For instance, the film tries to explain how taxes, policing, civic amenities and voting rights work for different races through a game (Monopoly), encouraging the viewer to roll dice and pick up cards (all virtually, of course). At one point, the viewer is privy to King’s historic speech as it unfolds in Washington DC, the essence of which, the film underlines, continues to resonate in the contemporary context.

(Vroooom: A Virtual Reality Film Experience is on view till November 17; 11am to 7 pm at Hamburg Hall, Goethe Zentrum Hyderabad, road no.3, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad)