RICHARD Harris International Film Festival 2019, October 19 to 28, has sited a three-day technical summit at Engine, Upper Cecil Street for the festival’s opening number. Catch this Wednesday’s details online pronto at richardharrisfestival.com
This virtual reality/ augmented reality ‘iMET’ presents the opportunity for an immersive landmark experience for RHIFF goers. iMET is a first for an Ireland film festival and is being held in association with Simmotion and Immersive VR Education.
Read on to find how you can be party to the following adventures and war bombardment, taking place in Engine’s virtual reality lounge.
Apollo 11 VR Experience – On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon. Relive this event for a first hand perspective by becoming Neil Armstrong and boarding the Saturn V Rocket, still the most powerful machine created by man.
1943 – BBC’s Berlin Blitz VR Experience – On the night of September 3, 1943 an Avro Lancaster bomber, dubbed F for Freddie, set out for Berlin, 590 miles from London.
Its seven-man crew comprised of a pilot, an engineer, a bomb aimer, also known as a bombardier, a radio operator and rear and mid gunners.
What is exceptional is that there were passengers on board: Welsh BBC reporter Wynford Vaughan-Thomas and his sound engineer, Reg Pidsley.
Recorded from inside of the plane by Pidsley, Vaughan-Thomas reports an eye witness account of the mission. This was broadcast on UK radio the following evening after their successful return and had a powerful effect on people’s perception of the war as it unfolded.
‘1943: Berlin Blitz’ tells the story of this historic event with a mix of real archive from those recordings and VR recreations of the event from aboard the Lancaster Bomber.
Let us not forget the human cost involved for either side. By 1944 in Berlin, some half million people were homeless and tens of thousands of homes were shattered. 5,000 civilians were killed. For the British bombers, 2,600 airmen were killed and another 1,000 taken prisoner.
On to festival glory in Limerick firing off on many sites, from 1314 to The Commercial to Dance Limerick, LIT Millennium Theatre and Belltable. There are events, screenings, competitions, talks, workshops and networking sessions throughout RHIFF, an innovative festival with much traction internationally.
Special mention to Jerry Flannery’s 1314 venue on Catherine Street playing host to the documentary ‘The Making of Angela’s Christmas’. Afterwards there will be a panel discussion on animation, from concept to production, including Malachy McCourt who narrated the film.
Schedules, dates and tickets are all on the festival website, as before.
