Two VR films from Taiwan, including Hsin-Chien Huang's (黃心健) "Samsara (輪迴)," and "Missing Pictures Episode 2: Tsai Ming-liang (大師狂想曲：蔡明亮)" will be featured at this year's BFI London Film Festival from Oct. 6 to Oct. 17.
"Samsara" follows the fictional centuries-long journey of people through space in the aftermath of earth's total destruction. In light of earth's demise, human beings had to find a new planet to live, and, at the same time, redesign human DNA to adapt to new environments, and evolve into new life forms. The plot features diverse issues such as ecology, technology, resource allocation, and war, among others.
The film makes extensive use of the creative concept of "Embodied Cognition," enabling audience to view from the perspective of different life forms, including native Taiwanese species such as the Formosan black bear and the Taiwan blue magpie, as they interact with their surroundings.
A multinational co-production by Taiwan, France, the UK, and Luxembourg, "Missing Pictures Episode 2: Tsai Ming-liang" is the second installment in a series of documentary shorts that focus on six international master directors and reveals the unknown stories behind each director’s creative journeys. In it, internationally renowned filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang shares the untold story of his childhood.
The Taiwan Creative Content Agency, which supported the film's production through its Immersive Content Grant for International Co-funding and Co-Productions, provided its IP Lab's 4DViews volumetric video capturing studio to capture Tsai's facial expressions and gestures during the interview.
Founded in 1957, BFI London Film Festival is now as devoted to home-grown filmmakers and new discoveries as it is to established masters, and has grown into one of the most essential, diverse and distinguished festivals in the world.
For more information on the events, please visit the festival's site.