FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2017 MY HERO IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING AWARD

CONTACT: Wendy Milette                         FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Director of Media 
[email protected]
949-376-5964

FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2017 MY HERO IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING AWARD

SANTA MONICA, CA – 10/27/2017 - The MY HERO Project is delighted to announce the finalists for the 2017 Immersive Storytelling Award. The annual award honors innovative storytelling done with Virtual Reality technology to promote activism, engagement and social good. The award comes with prizes sponsored by Oculus.

This year’s finalists include: 

BELLA GAIA, by producer Kenji Williams is a unique immersive experience that conveys powerful feelings of the beauty and interconnectedness of all things on Earth.

STEP TO THE LINE, produced by VR for Good, shows life in California’s maximum-security prisons in an effort to provoke change in the prison system, prisoners, and the viewers themselves. 

IN HARMONY, produced by VR for Good, shows Los Angeles kids for whom music is more than a form of art; it’s a tool for overcoming adversity.

OUT OF THE BLUE, by VR for Good, tells the story of a child in Mexico whose family of fishermen are experiencing shrinking catches. They make a bold decision that changes their fate and their future.

WOMEN ON THE MOVE, by VR for Good, tell the story of Fatchima and her granddaughter Nana, of rural Niger. 

THE PEOPLE UNITED, produced by Blaze VR, is a first-person 360 experience in which the viewer attends a “No Ban-No Wall” rally in San Francisco.

BASHIR'S DREAM, by DYAD and RYOT Films, tells the story of Qusai Bashir Masaama, a 14-year-old Syrian refugee in Jordan who was shot in the back by a sniper while on a candy run. 

WE ARE HUMAN, produced by Blaze VR, offers a first experience of stereotyping people.

TAKE EVERY WAVE: LAIRD IN VR, by Tarik Benbrahim, Elijah Allan-Blitz, Josh Gold, William Cawley, Laird Hamilton, and Bryn Mooser, takes you on a virtual reality journey that is beautiful and poetic.

The award will be presented at The MY HERO International Film Festival Awards Ceremony on November 11, 2017, at the Moss Theater at New Roads School (3131 Olympic Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90404). The event runs from 3pm-10pm. (myhero.com/RSVP).

On Sunday, November 12, 2017, enjoy an afternoon VR showcase of finalists for The MY HERO Immersive Storytelling Award in the Leadership Center from 1-3pm. Select winning short films will be screened in the Moss Theater from 1-3pm. (myhero.com/RSVPSunday)

The festival is part of The MY HERO Project, a 501(c)3 organization with a mission to share stories of the world’s heroes. The finalists’ work can be viewed on the MY HERO website (https://myhero.com/immersive-storytelling-award-finalists) Videos can be download and enjoyed with a Virtual Reality or Google cardboard headset. They can also be experienced by clicking and dragging the image around with the cursor as the video plays. (Passwords are included in the video descriptions.)

To learn more about The MY HERO International Film Festival, visit the MY HERO website: myhero.com/films/festival or contact Wendy Milette at [email protected].