PvNew has been given access to the teaser (below) for “Murals,” an immersive 3D documentary that has its world premiere on May 18 at Cannes Next, a sidebar to the Marché du Film in Cannes.
The experience, which is created in Unreal Engine and displayed on LED screens, features murals by Banksy, created following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The project was initiated by Artem Ivanenko, a 3D artist from Irpin, Ukraine, which was one of the first towns to be hit during the Russian invasion. Later, when the Russians withdrew, Ivanenko returned to Irpin to record the devastating destruction using 3D scanning.
The directors are Alex Topaller and Dan Shapiro of the New York-based production company Aggressive, alongside Ivanenko. Spain’s Tigrelab handled art direction and CG/Unreal animation.
In a statement, the filmmakers said: “An audacious war of conquest is being waged in the heart of Europe, a criminal, military force has invaded a sovereign nation and is systematically destroying its people, cities, and culture. This project is our letter to today’s generation of Ukrainians, to our friends and colleagues, to the people whose bombed-out houses we scanned for this project, and to the heroes who are in the trenches at this very moment – we will remember everything, we will not stay quiet.”
The music was composed by Ukrainian composer and pianist Egor Grushin.
The work is produced by Radosława Bardes at Poland’s ATM Virtual and Ukraine’s Mriya Production, with the backing of Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and the Polish Film Institute.
Bardes’ credits include Philipp Yuryev’s “The Whaler Boy,” which played in Venice, Egle Vertelyte’s “Miracle,” which world premiered in Toronto, and Małgorzata Szumowska’s “Infinite Storm,” which premiered in New York.
Radosław Śmigulski, general director of the Polish Film Institute, commented: “The time in which we are surrounded by the current events related to the war in Ukraine is also a time to help our neighbors in every sphere of their lives – also cultural, because culture also shapes politics, gives comfort and can change the course of events.”
The virtual production is by Maciej Żemojcin at Pixel Race, and the sound design is by Bartosz Putkiewicz at Bartez.
Additional support was provided by Tigrelab, True Performance LED, We Play, El Designs, LGL-IPLaw, Disguise, Studio 727, NAMovie and L-Acoustics.
