The BFI London Film Festival will launch a new video games strand during this year’s edition, which runs from October 9 to 20.
The video game strand will run parallel to LFF Expanded, the festival’s programme of immersive art and extended reality works. Five video game projects will be accessible for free as part of an installation at the Bargehouse in Oxo Tower Wharf on London’s Southbank. The five video game projects are:
- A Highland Song – follows the journey of protagonist Moira McKinnon as she explores the mysteries of the Scottish Highlands.
- Playing Kafka – the ultimate Franz Kafka video game based on his life and work.
- Paper Trail – join Paige, a budding academic, as she unravels the puzzle of a foldable paper world.
- Dome King Cabbage – an award-winning psychedelic visual novel about a cloud man named Mush who is on his way to an interview for the role of “Dome King”.
- Closer the Distance – a deeply moving slice-of-life simulation in which players help a community overcome collective grief in the face of tragedy.
The festival’s traditional extended projects will also play at the Bargehouse as well as at BFI Southbank, BFI IMAX and Outernet London. The extended programme includes The great undertaking by Liam Young and a new immersive audio project by Darkfield. Scroll down for the full track list.
“LFF Expanded has become an integral part of the LFF experience and I invite audiences to push the boundaries of their imagination and beyond with this year’s programme,” said Kristy Matheson, Director of the BFI London Film Festival, of this year’s titles.
LFF EXPANDED 2024 IMMERSIVE ART AND XR PROGRAM:
IMMERSIVE INSTALLATIONS
LAST MINUTE – UK PREMIERE
Oct 12 – 27 | Bargehouse | 30 mins | Artist/Studio: Adrien Mondot & Claire Bardainne | Tickets required
A moment stretched to infinity: this poetic and hauntingly beautiful installation aims to change our perception of time and space.
What if this was the first minute of your life? What if it was the last? French artists Claire Bardainne and Adrien Mondot have created a space immersed in images and sounds that capture a unique moment on the threshold between death and life. Embark on a collective immersive journey through a hypnotic universe of music, light and interactive projections.
IMPULSE: PLAYING WITH REALITY – UK PREMIERE
Oct 12 – 27 | Bargehouse | 40 mins | Artist/Studio: Anagram | Tickets required
What happens in your head when you act impulsively? This project explores, through play, what it means to live with ADHD.
This brilliant and imaginative portrayal of life with ADHD uses mixed reality to capture the visual cacophony of our thoughts and the meaning of neurodivergentness. In captivating gameplay, follow four outsiders whose emotional rollercoaster leads them to a life on the fringes of society. As the characters explore their thought patterns, you can discover your own and reach a state of empathy and understanding.
ARCADE
12 – 27 Oct | BFI Southbank (outside Theatre Avenue entrance) | 30 mins | Artist/Studio:
DARKFIELD | Tickets sold out
Can a gaming avatar be aware of its own actions? Find out in DARKFIELD’s latest adventure – a fully interactive choose-your-own-path experience with immersive sound.
Enter the world of ARCADE, where your choices ultimately determine your journey. You can choose a side in a war-torn world, seek peace, or even join a cult. Through spatial sound and sensory effects, you and your fellow viewers embark on a journey through an alternate reality where you begin to question your perception of free will and consciousness.
THE GREAT ENDEAVOR – INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
11 – 27 Oct | Outernet (free) | 10 min. | Artist/Studio: Liam Young | free
Gigantic waves, raging storms and the largest construction project in human history: this impressive cinematic experience creates a vision of the future in which we achieve a planetary transformation.
To meet current climate targets, we need to remove a gigaton limit of existing carbon from the atmosphere. Artist and filmmaker Liam Young approaches this enormous challenge with radical optimism. “The Great Endeavour” is a collaboration with scientists and engineers – accompanied by world-renowned musician Lyra Pramuk – that creates a vision of the future in which we face the greatest challenge of our generation.
SUPERRADIANCE. EMBODYING EARTH – EUROPEAN PREMIERE
11 – 27 Oct | BFI IMAX Foyer (free) | 20 mins | Artist/Studio: Memo Akten & Katie Peyton
Hodstadter | Free
This immersive virtual simulation explores the interplay of AI and dance, merging ethereal dancers with transhuman species to bring them to life in an immersive ritual space.
This immersive, multi-screen video and sound installation aims to deepen our connection to global ecosystems. Combining artificial intelligence, dance and neuroscience, this otherworldly experience extends the viewer’s physical awareness beyond the skin and into the environment. Located in the foyer of the BFI IMAX, it invites cinemagoers and audiences alike to engage with its mesmerizing sights and sounds.
PLAYING WITH REALITY
Complementing Anagram’s Impulse: Playing With Reality presentation, this program explores neurodivergence and mental and physical health through a selection of XR experiences and installations, offering new perspectives on a pressing issue and aiming to drive societal change.
EMPEROR
Oct 12 – 27 | Bargehouse | 40 min. | Main artists: Marion Buger, Ilan J. Cohen | Free
An interactive narrative that delves into the world of a father suffering from aphasia and the world of his daughter who struggles with the loss of the ability to find words.
Emperor tells the poetic story of a man who can no longer speak and his daughter’s quest to communicate with him. As she unravels his connection to words and memories, we join her on a surreal journey through aphasia, exploring themes of loss, aging and lasting emotional bonds. All of this is presented in black and white and a traditional animation style.
MAMARI MOUNTAIN
Oct 12 – 27 | Bargehouse | 23 mins | Lead artists: Tara Baoth Mooney, Camille Baker, Maf’j Alvarez | Free
An intimate VR experience that explores body “discomfort” through the life experiences of breast cancer patients.
Carefully crafted and developed in close collaboration with a team of scientists and researchers, this interactive experience tells patients’ stories about their health issues, with a focus on breast cancer treatment. Audiences are guided through a visual and audio world, interspersed with excerpts from survivors’ stories, to achieve a more nuanced and holistic understanding of this sensitive topic.
SOUL PAINT – UK PREMIERE
Oct 12 – 27 | Bargehouse | 27 mins | Lead artists: Sarah Ticho, Niki Smit | Free
Soul Paint unfolds at the intersection of immersive technology, creative storytelling and wellbeing, delving into the diversity of the embodied human experience.
Explore and express your emotions and bodily sensations through body mapping, 3D drawings and movement. Using cutting-edge interactive technology, this experience, narrated by Rosario Dawson, pushes boundaries and encourages new forms of embodied insight, allowing us to reflect on the diversity of human experience, both on an individual and universal level.
STIM-CINEMA
12 – 27 Oct | Bargehouse | Main artists: The Neurocultures Collective and Steven Eastwood | Free
This installation explores the connections between repetitive vocal behavior common in autism, the earliest forms of moving images, and contemporary digital art.
Stim Cinema explores repetitive actions and autistic experiences by tracing the origins of cinema and its language. By fusing neurodivergent perspectives, it offers new representations of autism and pioneers inclusive practices in moving image art. Co-created by The Neurocultures Collective and artist-filmmaker Steven Eastwood, this project invites viewers to experience the joys of stim and shared neurodiversity.
