With the great influx of Virtual Reality content becoming more widely used in the entertainment industry, not just gaming, it was only a matter of time before we’d be viewing full feature length movies on VR headsets. In an interesting twist, the technology has now also expanded to the Nativity Story. The movie Jesus VR: The Story of Christ will be featured at this year’s Venice Film Festival, from 1-4 September 2016, which will give special 40-minute screenings to attendees. The full movie has a 90-minute runtime and is set for release later this year, around Christmas.
Jesus VR: The Story of Christ is produced by Autumn Production of Toronto, and VRWERX of Los Angeles. The executive producer, Enzo Sisti, was also the EP for The Passion of the Christ, which was directed by Mel Gibson and grossed $612m worldwide. Jesus VR: The Story of Christ, takes the viewer back some 2,000 years to witness the life of Jesus, from His birth to resurrection and even included moments such as His baptism, Sermon on the Mount and the Last Supper.
The film was directed by David Hansen, and shot in Matera, Italy, the same location as The Passion of the Christ, and will be viewed in 360° 4K resolution. The cast includes Tim Fellingham (Final Destination 5), Mish Boyko (Anthropoid) Christian Serritiello (Homeland), Rhys Howells (Hollyoaks) and Matteo Carlomagno (Jumper), while the script was written by Andre van Heerden. The film will be viewable by means of Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR and HTC Vive.
