VeeR Future Award at Cannes XR for our member Faber Courtial with “1st Step”

Last week, from 24-26 June 2020, Cannes XR Virtual invited to a 3-day online and virtual event
dedicated to immersive entertainment. Due to the particular international situation, the Marché du Film, Tribeca, Kaleidoscope, The Museum of Other Realities and Veer VR partnered this year in order to present an online program fully dedicated to immersive technologies and works, in connection with the art of storytelling and the film industry.

1st Step – which is at once a VR documentary and fairy tale, telling the magical story of the Apollo missions – was one of the 14 selected 360 cinematic experiences that were selected by VeeR to be presented to its inaugural VeeR 360 Cinema and was finally awarded the VeeR Future Award 2020 at the virtual ceremonial of XR Cannes.

The film, which celebrated its international premiere at Tribeca earlier this year, was produced by the German VR studio Faber Courtial whose founders Maria and Joerg Courtial are passionately committed to create unique VR experiences. For the first time, viewers are enabled to experience the Apollo adventure in a completely new way in VR as they get the chance to perceive the extreme dimensions of the missions in an unprecedented spatial quality through the eyes of the astronauts, e.g. the unbelievable narrowness of the command capsule, but also the surprising topography of the lunar landscape. Told from a narrator’s perspective who can hardly believe herself the miraculous nature of this incredible venture. 1st Step presents an exceptional richness of detail with photorealistic settings accurately reconstructed in 3D on basis of original NASA data & with expert advice of ESA.

Jingshu Chen, Cofounder of VeeR, about the jury decision: “This project is a beautiful piece that uses 360° to its full potential. It tells the story of the Apollo missions. Space is a theme that’s been created many times in VR, but this project has its very unique approach to tell the story and use the archive footage to recreate a remarkable experience. It’s not just a documentary but also a very well-directed fairy tale. The storytelling pace is very smooth and it keeps the audience engaged throughout the whole experience. Thank you for being such an amazing and passionate creator!”

Until July 3rd, 1st Step is available at the VeeR VR Video Platform together with the other selected film projects as well as through the Museum of Other Realities (MOR): the Cannes XR Virtual dedicated VR area – a virtual place to connect, share, and experience virtual reality art with others as a collective experience. Furthermore, a LBE showcase is held in China in VeeR network.