Tales of the March

Synopsis In the winter between 1944 and 1945, the SS forced some 700,000 prisoners to leave the concentration camps and walk towards Germany. This historical tragedy has been the last act of the Holocaust and it is known as the “Death Marches”.
VR experience Tales of the March invites the viewer to become a witness of a march, portrayed as a fiction story based on the accounts of some survivors. Our protagonist, Eithan, is seen walking in a column, as he survives the abuses of the soldiers, until he is finally freed in a forest. But is this a true liberation? Possibly, the shadows of the camps will stay in Eithan’s soul for all his life.
Tales of the March is not only a homage to the victims and survivors of the marches, but also a virtual source of documentation, presenting documents, videos and photos presented on a virtual exhibition than can be visited after the narrative part.

As Eithan is marching in the column, the viewer perceives a clear sense of “direction” in the 360-degree video. The marchers come from the end of the road, and move to the other end. But as Eithan is freed, the scene opens up all around—a scene of desolation, desperation, turning then into hope and memory. But in this final act there is no clear sense of direction, as to represent that—for many prisoners—being liberated did not mean being free. For this purpose, we have been using VR in its full extent as a media language, leveraging the “direction” of the shots as a true dramaturgic element.
I believe it is of pivotal importance to develop a VR language capable of conveying also stories of this kind, in order to be able to report about historical facts and tragedies. Now that the last survivors of the Holocaust are leaving us, we have to make sure that these stories can reach younger audiences and will never be forgotten—now that memory is becoming history.

PRODUCTION 1: Stefano Casertano - Daring House UG
Auguststr., 88
10117 – Berlin, Germany
Tel. +49 15233944028
stefano.casertano@daringhouse.com
http://www.daringhouse.com

PRODUCTION 2: Tim Deussen – Studio Deussen
Kreutzigerstraße, 10
10247 – Berlin, Germany
Tel. +49 3029364039
tim@tim-deussen.de
http://tim.deussen.de/

WORLD SALES: Stefano Casertano - Daring House UG
Auguststr., 88
10117 – Berlin, Germany
Tel. +49 15233944028
info@daringhouse.com
http://www.daringhouse.com

ITALIAN DISTRIBUTION: Rai Cinema

PRESS OFFICE 1: La Biennale di Venezia – Biennale College Cinema
Ca’ Giustinian 1364/a
Venezia, Italia
Tel. +39 041 272664
presscinema@labiennale.org
college-cinema@labiennale.org

PRESS OFFICE 2: Lily Sievers - Daring House
Auguststr., 88
10117 – Berlin, Germany
Tel. +49 1741618526
lily.sievers@gmail.com