Channel 4’s Current Affairs department has commissioned a 1x 15 mins VR film, Grenfell: Our Home from independent production company, Parable. This unique documentary will detail the lives, the homes and community that existed in the tower before the fire of 14th June 2017. The film has been selected to premiere at Sheffield Doc/Fest’s Alternative Realities exhibition from 7th June 2018.

Whilst questions about why the fire happened, who is to blame and what will happen next have barely been out of the news since June, little is known about the people who called Grenfell Tower their home. Even less is understood about what it was like to live there, how people came to call it their home and what they have lost.

Grenfell: Our Home will be a bold and innovative film, which will go beyond the news headlines to bring to life survivors stories. It will offer a powerful, moving and genuinely original perspective as well as a sensitive and respectful record of what happened.

This film will combine documentary interviews shot in stereoscopic 360 with computer-generated animation to focus on important events and poignant every-day moments of the residents’ lives, incorporating the contributors’ own photos and video footage. This will be a standout documentary about one of the most significant, shocking and devastating events in living memory and allow viewers to visualise and experience the survivor’s memories before the fire.

The film is being directed by Parable’s Creative Director, Jonathan Rudd, the animation is being designed and created by the award-winning 59 Productions and the music composed by the acclaimed Icelandic composer, Biggi Hilmars.

David Wise, Parable’s CEO and the Executive Producer of the film, said, “Virtual Reality is often described as ‘the empathy tool’ for its ability to immerse and engage viewers so intensely in other people’s stories and other worlds. The combination of 360 video and beautiful animation will enable the telling of this important story in a way that no other medium can match”.

Siobhan Sinnerton, Commissioning Editor added; Innovation lies at the core of Channel 4’s remit so we are delighted to be exploring new and interesting ways to deliver the very best storytelling, and journalism. We hope this piece will give our audience a truly unique perspective on what the Grenfell community was like before the fire.

The film will be released on social media and made available for free in various VR stores. There are also plans to enable people in the Grenfell community and the general public to view the film in VR headsets this summer. The project was funded by Creative Diversity and the Alpha Fund.

A promo about C4 made in virtual reality and produced by Parable is released today on C4’s Facebook page https://business.facebook.com/Channel4/ (opens in a new window) and YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel4 (opens in a new window)

NOTES TO EDITOR:
Commissioning Editor: Siobhan Sinnerton
Director: Jonathan Rudd
Executive Producer: David Wise
Production Company: Parable

Parable
Parable launched in March 2017. After initially focusing on VR and 360 content creation, the company is now working across a range of immersive content as well as 2D content for television, brands and institutions. The company was founded by David Wise (formerly Director of Programmes at The Garden Productions, producers of Channel 4’s 24 Hours in A&E, 24 Hours in Police Custody), Nicholas Minter-Green (formerly founder and President of Economist Films) and Jonathan Rudd (an award-winning television director and editor). In 2017, Parable produced a VR film for The Economist, two films for the BBC, as well as a brand-funded VR mini-series about The America’s Cup. In December 2017, two of Parable’s films were selected by Broadcast amongst the top 10 VR experiences of 2017.

59 Productions
59 Productions are designing and creating the animation for Grenfell: My Home. 59 Productions is the Tony Award-winning company of artists behind the video design of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, globe-trotting smash hit, War Horse, the design and creative direction of the record- breaking David Bowie is exhibition and the decor concept design for The Met Ball, hosted by Anna Wintour. Led by directors Leo Warner, Mark Grimmer, Lysander Ashton and Richard Slaney, 59 are world-leading specialists in design for stage and live events, the go-to team for generating creative and technical ideas to realise ambitious artistic projects. The Company has recently become renowned for creating spectacular public artworks, projection-mapping some of the world’s most iconic buildings, including the Sydney Opera House, Edinburgh Castle, and the United Nations Headquarters in New York. As of 2017, the company has also begun producing its own theatrical work, with its first full scale production, Paul Auster’s City of Glass playing at Home, Manchester and the Lyric, Hammersmith.