Is virtual reality the next frontier for Arab cinema?
There has been criticism that virtual reality cinema threatened to comprise the artistic integrity of filmmaking but Latiri argued that it could enhance the industry.
“Digital technologies are here to serve cinema, not denigrate it,” Latiri said. “We want to show there is a structure in Tunisian labs to execute these techniques. We want to show we can produce visual effects and use these digital techniques here in our labs.
The Carthage Film Festival included panel discussions on visual effect techniques, African animation, immersive technologies in the cinema industry and virtual films.
There was considerable debate regarding the use of virtual reality in cinema. Zied Meddeb Hamrouni, a multidisciplinary artist who researches virtual reality cinema, said the genre has the potential to reshape viewers’ experiences in a profound way.
“New media have radically changed the industry,” he said. “We should ask ourselves what it could do for entertainment. What we seek when watching films is empathy. This is the most important element of storytelling.
The festival set up a virtual reality lab on Tunis’s main boulevard, where members of the public experienced the new technology firsthand.
See the full story here: https://thearabweekly.com/virtual-reality-next-frontier-arab-cinema