PARK CITY: A real-life homicide, a woman who wakes up after being frozen for 30 years and a close encounter with a whale -- these are some of the virtual reality films creating a buzz at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
The lineup of no less than 30 immersive experiences -- showcased in the festival's New Frontier program -- reflects an increasing willingness by filmmakers to experiment with technology that offers a new form of story-telling.
"It's pretty amazing," said John Cooper, director of the Sundance festival.
"We're still at a nascent stage -- five minutes long, that kind of stuff -- but you can really see how it's going to grow in people's imaginations.
"I can see coming home and saying I just need 10 minutes of VR before anybody talks to me."
Among the standout shorts, which run about five minutes on average, is "Defrost," which follows a woman who suffered a massive stroke and wakes up after being frozen for nearly 30 years.
The viewer, equipped with a headset, experiences the film from the woman's perspective as she reunites with her much older family.
"Waves of Grace" follows Ebola survivor Decontee Davis as she helps others in Liberia affected by the disease, while "theBlu: Encounter" offers a close encounter with a whale.
"Virtual reality immerses you into a really different experience you've never really had before," said Jake Rowell, the director of "theBlu: Encounter," which was made in three months. "It takes you back to your eight-year-old self in a lot of ways.
"Usually people leave with it being a memory, they experience it like going on a hike, or skiing."
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