Although Maciek Szczerbowski emigrated to Canada when he was 9, thanks to his uncle, a stage designer, he has been always been fascinated with theatre and Tadeusz Kantor’s works. In the 90s, when Kantor’s play was staged in Canada, he simply had to see it. During the play he grabbed a book, which, as he later found out, was thrown from the stage by Lech Stangret. Over 20 years later, he and his partner, Chris Lavis, with whom he started Oscar®-nominated Clyde Hendry Production, came to Hucisko, the house of Tadeusz Kantor and Maria Stangret. During their residency there they came up with the idea of the stop-motion VR animation GYMNASIA.
The cinematic VR experience was co-produced by Felix & Paul Studios, the National Film Board of Canada, and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. The Institute also coproduced the installation that enhances the VR experience and blurs the lines of theatre and film, creating cognitive dissonance even before putting the headset on. During the 44th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, the animation will have its Polish premiere in the Adam Mickiewicz Institute’s Pavilion.
The eerie sounds of children humming create a sense of a larger space. On the walls are animated projections of running puppet children and, in the corner, a full-scale puppet of a “teacher” places acetate musical sheets on an overhead projector. The puppet can also be seen outside the pavilion circling around the festival square. There is also a row of wooden school desks. At one of them sits a puppet boy, a direct homage to the puppets in Kantor’s The Dead Class, waiting for the viewer to put on their VR headset and begin viewing the GYMNASIA experience, where he will also be the viewer’s guide. The installation was produced and installed by Phi Centre, a Montreal-based multidisciplinary arts and culture organization.
Gymnasia is a dark and mysterious dreamlike experience set in Tadeusz Kantor’s aesthetic. By enveloping the participant in lost rituals of sporting events and school plays, the piece triggers half-forgotten memories. Through stop-motion animation in VR, Clyde Henry accomplishes what no live theatre performance could –it shrinks the users, so they fit into a dollhouse and come face to face with a doll. It distorts the perception of scale and tickles your memories by integrating life size puppets into an environment with a cinematic VR experience.
GYMNASIA was produced by Stéphane Rituit (Felix & Paul Studios) and Dana Dansereau
(NFB). The immersive sound design and capture is provided by Headspace Studio. Stop motion animation and puppetry intertwine here with 3D images.
Dana Dansereau, the NFB producer says: “Stop motion animation in VR is in its early days and it took the extreme talents of these three groups to pull off such a successful project”.
GYMNASIA is another (after Cricoterie by Tale of Tales) Kantor-inspired VR work that resulted from a residency in Tadeusz Kantor’s and Maria Stangret’s house in Hucisko, organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
It premiered in April at Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. It was also shown to the audiences of Venice, Cannes, and Annecy.
About the Adam Mickiewicz Institute
The Adam Mickiewicz Institute's mission is to promote Polish culture abroad. The Institute has held over 8 thousand cultural events, seen by nearly 60 million viewers in over 70 countries. It also runs the Culture.pl website — a news service, updated daily, about the most interesting events and phenomena related to Polish culture.
About Felix & Paul Studios
Felix & Paul Studios is an EMMY® Award-winning immersive entertainment
studio, creating virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality experiences of the
highest quality. The studio combines technological innovation with a unique, pioneering
and in-depth approach to the new art of XR storytelling.
Felix & Paul Studios is the world’s only full spectrum immersive entertainment studio,
showcasing end-to-end creative capabilities, technological know-how and proprietary
tools all within one company. Headquartered in Montreal, Canada it also runs offices in Los Angeles, CA.
About the NFB
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is one of the world’s leading digital content hubs,
creating ground-breaking interactive documentaries and animation, mobile content,
installations and participatory experiences. Their interactive productions
have won 100 awards.
Created and directed by Clyde Henry Productions
Produced by Felix and Paul Studios and the National Film Board of Canada
Installation by PHI.
Presented by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and PHI