The Sundance Film Festival is a career pinnacle for many independent filmmakers. Long recognized as the premiere venue for up and coming film artists, each year Sundance debuts a fresh crop of new cinematic voices. However, in recent years, Sundance is increasingly widening its spotlight to include the groundbreaking work of non-narrative storytellers working in the nascent fields of transmedia, multimedia, and digital interactive experiences.
Launched in 2007, Sundance’s New Frontier program has quickly grown in size and influence to become a must-see feature of each year’s festivities. Over the last three years, I’ve observed as the scope and quality of the installations improved demonstrably, culminating with this year’s collection of truly innovative and technologically advanced offerings.
The 2013 project slate included 3D light and paint installations, experimental narratives, interactive media pieces, augmented reality mobile apps, audiovisual maps, and multiple panels discussing what’s next when it comes to the intersection of technology and storytelling. What follows are a few selected images culled from the various installations, paired with Twitter responses that capture the sense of discovery for the audience.
Eyjafjallalokull (Joanie Lemercier)
Video of “Eyjafjallalokull” (“The Volcano),” an astonishing new installation in the Sundance New Frontiers Building. bit.ly/T1yFMz
— Roger Ebert (@ebertchicago) January 28, 2013
AntiVj Joannie Lemercier made badass mirage !
— Malo (@graphicacoustic) February 1, 2013
Love antiVJ’s work! Sundance 2013 media installations. Seeing volcanoes, coral and futuristic cityscapes latimes.com/entertainment/…
— Lauren Fenton (@NightLabyrinth) January 24, 2013
Cityscape 2095 (Yannick Jacquet, Mandril, Thomas Vaquié)
@nboritch_antivj Loved #Cityscape2095 at #Sundance – It’s a must see!
— Oscar David Ortiz (@oscardavidetc) January 24, 2013
Just discovered #Cityscape2095 – check this out instagr.am/p/UubBYwu5xQ/
— Buster Adams (@adamsbuster) January 21, 2013
E.m-bed.de/d —– Augmented Real (Yung Jake)
To experience Augmented Real, download the free app linked below, open it, and point it at the image of the rock.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/yung-jake/id590340804?mt=8
For all of you heading to #Sundance do not miss Yung Jake at #NewFrontier !Trust me!!
— Carrie Beck (@carrieannebeck) January 17, 2013
Yung Jake, a Recent CalArts Grad, Could Be the Breakout Art Star of Sundance blogs.laweekly.com/arts/2013/01/s… via @laweeklyarts
— Rachael Yaeger (@rachaelyaeger) January 17, 2013
Damn, @yuungjaake kilt it dis year at #Sundance… @yuungjaake
— SundanceFilmFestival (@sundancefest) January 25, 2013
Pulse Index (Rafael Lozano-Hemmer)
The fingerprint wall is strangely hypnotic and calming and we might just stay here all afternoon #sundance New Frontiers
— Film4 Insider (@Film4Insider) January 18, 2013
As Sundance continues to expand the scope of its programming, I predict their New Frontier section (curated by Sundance Senior Programmer Shari Frilot) will emerge as the launch pad for a new generation of storytellers. Steeped in the narrative tradition of their predecessors, but fully conversant in the new language of digital media, they will create the transmedia experiences that will form the bedrock of the next 20 years of storytelling.
There are definitely rough edges on the emerging technologies and techniques employed by these artists. But, much as early audiences may have scoffed at the initial efforts of the Lumière brothers, Georges Méliès, and Eaedward Muybridge, the seeds of new narrative forms were most certainly planted by these early cinematic pioneers. And so it is today with the artists in Sundance’s New Frontier program as they blaze new trails at the intersection of technology and story.
RT @opendoclab: “This is not ‘art at Sundance,’ this is expanding cinema culture” – Shari Frilot #NewFrontier #Sundance
— lisa osborne (@julipeno) January 18, 2013
#newfrontier at #sundance is always the best place to discover cutting edge art meets science meets future! instagr.am/p/U9ezftxzPV/
— gotham (@gothamc) January 26, 2013
Tags: art, entertainment, film, movies, Sundance, Technology
This post is categorized in: Art & Design, Entertainment
