In a recent article, Techvangart reviews the best movies and XR experiences from the Sundance Festival 2022. Here is what they write about our project Seven Grams :
“A former war correspondent and photojournalist, Karim Ben Khelifa has been experimenting with new ways of practicing journalism, using emerging media as a way to engage audiences.
After the success of VR experience The Enemy, Karim Ben Khelifa teams up once again with Lucid Reality’s executive producer Chloé Jarry. This time, using AR, you can witness the human cost that goes into producing smartphones in five chapters – 3 AR and 2 video materials.
The AR phone is remarkably smashed, so you can see each component. And each component is carefully analyzed.
Users will find out why each component is important from
(1) a technical point of view when they use the phone,
(2)what rare minerals contain and ways these minerals are obtained;
(3) And the human cost of it: abuse and human exploitation linked to mineral extraction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It highlights how the perfect scheme work: fancy advanced phones for the world, and Congo remains without minerals, but with poverty.
Besides the technical and cold-analysis carried out, you will have in the end also personal stories highlighted.
A ineffaceable experience, all chapters are a balanced blend between cold-rigorous analysis specific to investigative journalism and emotional storytelling, highlighting the personal aspect of systematic abuse.
And knowing all these, interestingly enough, the director chose to present the whole story… on the sc(re)ene of the crime – directly on your mobile phone. As if while you are watching, it would ‘force’ you to admit… ‘even, right now, we are all part of it’.”
Source : https://techvangart.com/2022/02/03/techish-futuristic-films-sundance-2022