Case studies: VR
30.05, 14.00-15.00 ASP 1
access with passes: Industry, Industry Pro, Industry Light, Media, Student
For the third time, the Krakow Film Festival will feature VR. Joanna Popinska is again in charge of this year’s selection of five exceptional titles. You will be able to take part in the immersive experience from Monday to Friday at the Bunkier Sztuki. Admission is free
Although this is the third time VR@KFF will be held, it will make its debut in the space of partner Bunkier Sztuki. As many as five amazing productions await the audience. Each of the invited projects represents a different approach to narration in virtual reality, showing the richness of forms and emotions offered by the immersive medium. The event is inclusive, open to all interested parties.
Ethics, Immersion, and Agency in VR Documentaries
How do creators balance user-driven exploration with truth? Join the filmmakers behind Ancestral Secret (2024) and Shelter (2025) for a discussion on the ethical dilemmas, technological challenges, and creative possibilities of storytelling in immersive VR.
Panel hosted by Tom C. Hall.
PROJECTS:
Shelter / is a virtual reality documentary directed by Sjors Swierstra (The Netherlands) and co-directed by Ivanna Khitsinska (Ukraine) that offers an intimate look at the war in Ukraine. The film immerses viewers in everyday scenes: a tender conversation between pregnant women in a Kyiv maternity ward, a soldier’s funeral in Lviv, tense preparations in frontline barracks, and an opera orchestra’s performance in a Kharkiv basement. Shelter invites audiences to share virtual space with Ukrainians, witnessing moments of shared humanity and reflecting on the profound cost of war.
Ancestral Secret VR / There is an ancient prophecy, which says that in the planet’s difficult times, harmony will return when the condor and the eagle fly together again. The condor represents the indigenous peoples and the eagle represents what we know today as the globalized world. This is a journey into the ways of life and the worldview of the Q’ero community of Peru, considered the last living Incas. A journey that redefines the relationship between humanity and Mother Earth, in an immersive experience that breaks the physical limits of reality.
REPRESENTATIVES:
Justin Karten / is a Dutch creative producer and co-founder of ScopicLabs, a VR film studio focused on immersive, socially impactful storytelling. His work explores empathy, agency, and ethics through experiential VR. At KFF, he represents “Shelter as its producer” — a 360° documentary offering a civilian perspective on the war in Ukraine.
Ivanna Khitsinska / is a Ukrainian producer and festival manager known for her work as a producer on the Fortress Mariupol documentary series. She is a member of the Ukrainian Film Academy Board and the documentary filmmakers’ association #BABYLON13. Shelter is Ivanna’s directorial debut.
María José Díaz / is a Chilean producer specializing in non-fiction films across both cinematic and extended reality (XR) formats. As the founder of Galgo Storytelling, a creative laboratory dedicated to leveraging technology for storytelling, she has played a key role in pioneering immersive narratives. She co-directed the virtual reality project “Ancestral Secret VR” (premiered at IDFA DocLab 2024) and produced the feature documentary “In The Shadow of Light” (premiered at Sheffield Doc Fest 2023). Currently, she is producing the mixed reality experience “Knowing Your Nature” (in development) and the immersive installation “Membrane.” María José collaborates with production companies in both Chile and Barcelona, where she is currently based.
Tom C. Hall / is an award-winning producer, cameraman and virtual reality filmmaker. Tom habitually explores how emerging technology can enable storytellers to better connect with their audiences and drive the art form of cinema forward. A pioneer in virtual reality filmmaking, Tom is consistently pushing the envelope of what the future of narrative storytelling could be in the 21st century.
