Ondřej Moravec
Czech Republic, Germany | 2022 | 25 min
How is the world perceived by someone with depression? The animated immersive film uses virtual reality to address depression and the ways to cope with it. Director and protagonist, Ondřej, guides us through diverse landscapes associating the story of his struggle with depression since puberty.
We share his feelings during his first depressive episodes: on a family trip in his childhood, at university while striving for perfect results, at work in his everyday struggles with depressive ‘darkening’.
Through animation, combining a stylized form of Ondřej’s environment and abstract images of his emotions, the viewers will experience and understand what it is like to live with this illness, how to tackle it and what mechanisms are used by people with depression to feel better. Most of the interactions are voice-controlled. The main character Ondřej finds out that his tool to get the depression under control is his voice. He uses humming, singing and even shouting as a calming and relieving technique.
Venice Film Festival – Venice Immersive Competition, Italy, 2022 – World Premiere
Stereopsia EUROPE, Belgium, 2022 –Nominated for the Crystal Owl Award
IDFF Ji.hlava Czech Joy Competition, Virtual Reality Competition, 2022
Geneva International Film Festival – International Immersive Works Competition, Switzerland, 2022