Shivanya Mulekar and Marie-Espérance Cerda will be discussing Sanctuary, their virtual reality documentary that uses 360-camera techniques. They will also be demonstrating Go Pro 360 and the 360 Ricoh Theta S cameras.

Sanctuary Description

Sanctuary, a virtual reality documentary uses 360-camera technique, it raises questions about undocumented immigrants, the concept of sanctuaries in Canada and the conditions of refugee families waiting for their hearings and for a second chance to live freely in Canada. The film explores the undocumented Juhasz family and their limited space inside a church, the space that they call home. The audience is offered an opportunity to share this same space virtually and be with the family, witnessing the hope and the positive spirit that keeps them fighting the system with limited means and with tremendous support from the local community. Merging documentary storytelling with virtual reality, Sanctuary will be presented in the form of an exhibit using Google cardboard and iPhones.

Bio

Shivanya Mulekar is a researcher, talent scout and content developer for lifestyle and reality television shows. Mulekar worked in the Indian broadcasting industry for more than seven years, creating award-winning drama series and children’s shows. Mulekar believes in searching for good content and ideas. She is keen to pursue her career in developing documentaries and VR content.

Marie-Espérance Cerda is an award winning video producer (NextMedia Digi Award, Montreal Remix NFB-INA Prize Winner) and an accomplished photographer. She recently completed Ryerson’s Master of Media Production program, where she produced two immersive and interactive 360-degree virtual reality video journalistic reports.
She has worked in West Africa with organizations such as Abode Youth Projects and throughout Canada as a video journalist for The Canadian Press, exploring the stories that make up cultures.
Marie-Espérance thrives on collaborations. Her current projects are virtual reality documentary following an urban explorer to Toronto's inaccessible places.

360 Camera Talk and Demo