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'The Revenant' director's VR short is a first for Cannes

The latest from Alejandro G Iñárritu is the first VR project to be an Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival.

Jennifer Bisset Former Senior Editor / Culture
Jennifer Bisset was a senior editor for CNET. She covered film and TV news and reviews. The movie that inspired her to want a career in film is Lost in Translation. She won Best New Journalist in 2019 at the Australian IT Journalism Awards.
Expertise Film and TV Credentials
  • Best New Journalist 2019 Australian IT Journalism Awards
Jennifer Bisset
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Another film with a two-part title.

Fox

Wondering what the first Mexican director to be nominated for both an Academy Award and Directors Guild of America award for directing has been up to lately?

He's been setting even more records. Alejandro Iñárritu's short film, "CARNE y ARENA (Virtually present, Physically invisible)" is the first VR project to be chosen for the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival.

It will be a six and a half minute solo experience, premiering ahead of its official opening in June at the Fondazione Prada in Milan. Emmanuel Lubezki, Iñárritu's cinematographer extraordinaire for "Birdman" and "The Revenant," is onboard. You can almost hear the movie buffs whooping.

The film isn't so joyous, exploring the personal stories of refugees.

"During the past four years in which this project has been growing in my mind, I had the privilege of meeting and interviewing many Mexican and Central American refugees," Iñárritu said in a statement. "Their life stories haunted me, so I invited some of them to collaborate with me in the project."

Recently another critically-acclaimed director stepped onboard the VR plane: Ridley Scott announced RSA VR, an imprint of his production company that will be dedicated to mixed media. VR has been touted as the next big thing by important tech figures such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Here's hoping these filmmakers help it take off.