Texada

Throughout the Festival

VR (Virtual Reality) Documentary
17 min
Not Rated
Released 2024

How big is time? On the remote Canadian island of Texada, the everyday stuff of human existence – work, play and dreams – is juxtaposed against the tectonic shifts of the planet, rising and falling in cyclical patterns of creation, extinction and renewal.

In this impressionistic VR project, co-directors Claire Sanford and Josephine Anderson merge 360-degree live-action footage, captured across the island, with 3D animation of geologic upheaval to create an immersive, poetic experience. A chorus of residents’ voices ebbs and flows, unravelling the complexities of the surrounding limestone that is central to the community and economy of the island. Present in everything from toothpaste to the great Pyramids of Egypt, this humble yet ubiquitous rock is a critical element in the construction of our modern society.

Texada is about rocks, people, and time – the head-spinning vastness of terrestrial epochs contrasted with the immediacy of day-to-day human experience. Real and imagined landscapes document a journey from the Earth’s formation to the current moment: twinned streams of existence mixing and mingling in an ever-changing flow. As geologic forces continue to unfold, the only constant is transformation. Yet amongst the great heave of history, glimpses of temporal beauty, like discovering beautiful stones on a beach, help us understand our place in the universe.

VR Workshop Monday March 10, 1:30pm 

In this workshop, filmmakers Josephine Anderson and Claire Sanford unpack the techniques and strategies for making work in virtual reality. Using their new VR documentary Texada (produced by the National Film Board of Canada) as a case study, the filmmakers share insights, challenges and real-world examples of what it is like to undertake a virtual reality collaboration. They will demonstrate shooting with a professional 360-degree camera and share experiences working alongside animators, developers and participants. With practices rooted in themes of time, identity and the natural world, the filmmakers unpack the question: how do we think immersively? What opportunities does this present, and how does it help us see the world differently?

Schedule for viewing VR:

3 VR headsets will be set up at the front of the auditorium. To book one of the times below, please register at the Will Call Table outside of the box office.

Saturday March 8 – 12:30pm and 1pm; 6pm and 6:30pm

Sunday March 9 – 12:30pm and 1pm; 6pm and 6:30pm

Monday March 10 – 6pm and 6:30pm

Tuesday March 11 – 6pm and 6:30pm

Wednesday March 12 – 12:30pm and 1pm; 6pm and 6:30pm

Thursday March 13 – 12:30pm and 1pm; 6pm and 6:30pm

Friday March 14 12:30pm and 1pm; 6pm and 6:30pm

Saturday March 15 12:30pm and 1pm

Sunday March 16 12:30pm and 1pm