‘Voices Of The Favela’ is a unique interactive 360 video VR-documentary that immerses the viewer in the lives of the inhabitants of the Gereba favela on the outskirts of Fortaleza, in Northern Brazil.

This interactive VR Video project allows the viewer to interactively navigate around the favela within a VR headset, using the gaze, to experience life on the streets, to visit homes, schools and even drop in on a ballet class.

This type of real-space non-linear storytelling had never been attempted before and was both challenging and liberating to create.

The community grew around the city’s landfill site and survives by recycling the waste of the growing metropolis, just visible on the distant horizon, their only connection to the city being it’s waste.

The film captures the hardships of living on the edges of the Brazilian economy but also the resourcefulness and the hope that the community has for their future and for their children.

Voices Of The Favela is a collaboration between London 360 video production studio, Citizen 360, Stockholm VR technologists Scene There and The Stockholm Resilience Centre.

Shot on a shoestring over three days, the UK and Swedish production team captured 360 scenes in over 40 locations around the favela, recorded a dozen interviews and captured footage for six short linear 360 stories. .

An early prototype of the project premiered at UN's Habitat 3 Conference in Quito and was shown at NY Times Energy For tomorrow in Paris. We also returned to Gereba to share the VR Storyscape with the residents of the favela.

The full length version of the project is currently in post-production and will be released on the Gear VR platform and as a linear 360 documentary.

SHOWN AT

DEMO FILM

A early demo film of the beta version of the project, showing how the interactive elements work within the Gear VR app, allowing the viewer to navigate the streets and discover the stories of some of the inhabitant using just their gaze to decide which direction to travel in.

CREDITS

360 Video Director & 360 Video Cinematographer: David Betteridge

360 video production and post-production: Citizen 360

Interactive Director: Marcus Olson @ Scene There.

360 interactive development: Scene There

Producer: Maria Schewenius @ The Stockholm Resilience Centre