Byron Bay Film Festival Announces Virtual Reality Program

If you think attending a film fest is just about sitting down with your popcorn in a theatre and watching movies on a big screen, think again. At this year's Byron Bay Film Festival, they're throwing an alternative way to consume films into the mix — they're going virtual.

Rest assured, coast dwellers: going to the cinema to catch a few flicks is still well and truly part of BBFF's tenth year. But if you're looking for something a little less traditional — or you want to find out why everyone is talking about virtual reality headsets Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR — then prepare to enter the virtual realm. If Cannes, TriBeCa and Sundance can tackle this new technological frontier, so can Byron Bay.

Given that the festival doesn't take place until October, the full details of their VR program, called Ncube8, are still being finalised — however, you can expect head-mounted displays to be a prominent feature. A handful of mainstream movies already have VR components, such as The Martian, The Hunger Games and Star Wars, but BBFF will be encouraging the creation of fresh content. Not only will the fest host virtual reality workshops, but they'll help eight creatives take the leap into this new kind of storytelling, and offer awards for interactive and immersive experiences. The artistic possibilities are endless.

That's great news for filmmakers, and for audiences as well — it will be a whole new way to experience a film festival. And given that Festival Director J'aimee Skippon-Volke and Technical Director Osvaldo Alfaro are also the driving forces behind nearby production house Greenhouse FX 3D|VR, expect BBFF to remain active in embracing VR technology.

The 2016 Byron Bay Film Festival runs from October 14 to 24. For more information, keep an eye on their website.