Goliath: Playing With Reality

Barry Gene Murphy, May Abdalla

France, UK, USA | 2021 | 25 min

Credit:

Directing: Barry Gene Murphy, May Abdalla

Writing: Barry Gene Murphy, May Abdalla, Oliver Bancroft

VR Directing: Michael Golembewski

Voice: Tilda Swinton

Production: Katayoun Dibamehr, Avi Amar, Kristin Irving, Farhana Bhula

Production Company: Anagram, Floréal, Meta (Oculus) VR For Good




Synopsys:

Goliath: Playing With Reality follows the true story of a man with a troubled upbringing who loses his parents and is diagnosed with schizophrenia. He is taken into a psychiatric hospital where he spends several years on strong medication, mostly in isolation. On his release, he finds connection through playing online multiplayer computer games. Enter Goliath’s world and, by combining candid conversations, mesmerising animations and tactile interactions, you will slip between real and unreal worlds. The project explores what it means to feel at odds with the world and eventually find one’s place within it through shared realities.

Festivals / Awards:

  • Tbilisi VR Days, Georgia, 2023
  • Belfast XR Festival, UK, 2023
  • Millenium Docs Against Gravity, Poland 2023
  • Viborg Animation Festival, Denmark 2022
  • Guanajuato International Film Festival, Mexico, 2022 – Best Virtual Reality
  • Anibar Animation Festival, Kosovo*, 2022
  • Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN), South Korea, 2022
  • Annecy International Animation Festival, France, 2022 – Jury Distinction
  • Bolton International Film Festival, UK, 2022
  • SXSW, USA, 2022
  • FIPADOC, France, 2022
  • Red Sea International Film Festival, Saudi Arabia, 2021
  • IDFA Festival, IDFA DocLab ‘Liminal Reality’, The Netherlands, 2021
  • Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF), Switzerland, 2021
  • Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, Canada, 2021
  • La Biennale di Venezia, Virtual Reality Expanded (Competition), Italy, 2021 – Grand Jury Prize for Best VR Work
  • Sandbox Immersive Festival, China, 2021