When it comes to awesome virtual reality (VR) films Baobab Studios and 3DAR have produced some of the best, from Invasion! to Gloomy Eyes respectively. Now the pair are teaming up for Paper Birds whilst announcing that Jojo Rabbit star Archie Yates has been cast in the lead role.
A collaborative effort between Facebook’s Oculus, Baobab Studios and 3DAR, Yates will play Toto a young musician with an exceptional talent for music. “He must find his way through the world of darkness to bring back his sister, taken away by the shadows,” the synopsis explains. “He’ll use the depth of music to open portals to the invisible world. He’ll confront the shadows, and they’ll reveal their purpose.”
With music performed by Argentine tango music legend Juan Jose Paper Birds will be a miniaturized world carefully crafted to ensure each element from wood to paper has that artisan feel.
“I just personally love the idea of virtual reality and I didn’t even know telling stories inside of [VR] was something you could do – the design of Paper Birds is incredible,” said Yates in a statement. “It’s just so cool; I am over the moon.”
“We’re beyond excited to welcome the irrepressible talent of Archie Yates to Paper Birds and to be a part of the auspicious directorial debut of German and Federico,” said Kane Lee, Baobab’s Head of Content. “The talented team at 3DAR shares a can-do mindset and deep creative spark that we’re thrilled to get behind because, like us, it comes from a place of passion for animation.”
Directed by the CEO and co-founder of 3DAR, German Heller and art director Federico Carlini, Paper Birds will be part of the 2020 Venice International Film Festival. After that, the first instalment will be available before the end of the year on the Oculus platforms.
“3DAR’s alliance with Baobab is very exciting and their great level of experience enormously boosts the potential of Paper Birds,” says Heller. “Not only through amazing creative and production input, but they bring a fresh point of view to expand what we believe we can do with the project – I think they’re the perfect partner for a world and characters as rich as in Paper Birds.”
As further details are released, VRFocus will keep you updated.
