MONTREAL.- The PHI Centre is opening a new program featuring augmented reality using the latest HoloLens 2 headsets, and a virtual reality artwork. These documentary-like experiences propose differing themes, but with a similar message of protest: civil rights in the United States and the banned rave culture in the United Kingdom.

Colored: The Unknown Life of Claudette Colvin
Created and produced by Novaya

Rosa Parks is often seen as an iconic figure in the fight against racial segregation in the United States for her refusal to give up her seat to a White passenger on a bus. But we often forget that she was not the first to make this brave gesture. Claudette Colvin, her predecessor, made it all possible, but she is the one who has been overlooked. She lives in the United States, and is currently 83 years old.

Colored: The Unknown Life of Claudette Colvin is an augmented reality immersive experience adapted from a biographical essay, written by Tania de Montaigne, that traces the story of Claudette Colvin and her journey from struggle to abandonment.

After being sold out at the Centre Pompidou in Paris earlier this year and selected and showcased at the BFI London Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival, this experience is an essential work that deserves to be seen to understand the inspiring message of its protagonist.

In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats
An East City Films Production

It's 1989, and rave culture is at its peak in England. Illegal raves are organized all over the country, in abandoned warehouses and other isolated locations. A cat-and-mouse game is played between the organizers and the police: once a rave has started, the police have no way of stopping it. Using virtual reality as the medium for this work, one will be transported to the heart of a rave, accompanied by the sounds of old-school Acid House.

Grab a flyer and set off with your friends in search of an illegal rave, somewhere in a secret location near the city of Coventry. You start by listening to tunes at home, then scout the dark, empty rest stops for isolated phone booths to receive the information, then finally experience the party.

After being showcased at the BFI London Film Festival, SXSW in Texas, and the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam (where the work won the Immersive Non Fiction Award), this work has seen considerable success worldwide since its initial presentation in Coventry in 2021.

Colored, the Unknown Life of Claudette Colvin directed by Stéphane Foenkinos and Pierre-Alain Giraud, is based on the work by Tania de Montaigne, Black, the Unknown Life of Claudette Colvin. Immersive installation produced by Novaya in partnership with the Centre Pompidou, co-produced with Flash Forward Entertainment (Taiwan).

In Pursuit Of Repetitive Beats, by award-winning immersive artist Darren Emerson, was originally commissioned and presented as part of Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 and supported by the BFI Film Fund, awarding National Lottery Funding.

About Novaya

Novaya is a company specializing in the creation of artistic immersive experiences using augmented reality. Their strength lies in the fact that they bring together artists, engineers and film producers, enabling them to write projects, visually create real and virtual worlds, and manufacture all the innovative technologies needed to bring them to life.

East City Films

East City Films, led by Ashley Cowan and Darren Emerson, is a trailblazer in creating meaningful and transformative narratives. Specializing in award-winning Virtual Reality documentaries, 360-degree video production, and Augmented Reality experiences, they are dedicated to sharing the stories that matter most.

PHI

Founded and directed by Phoebe Greenberg and based in Montreal, Canada, PHI is a multidisciplinary organization positioned at the intersection of art, film, music, design and technology. Offering a panoramic perspective of radical ideas focused on collective experience, social impact, and audience interactivity, PHI is committed to future generations of art consumption. PHI consists of the PHI Centre, PHI Studio, artist-in-residence programs, and the PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art. Through eclectic programming and a strong emphasis on content creation, PHI fosters unexpected encounters between artists and audiences.