Thornbury cinema becomes first theatre in Australia to permanently adopt VR films
This boutique cinema in Thornbury is the first in Australia to include VR films as a permanent part of its line up. And savvy cinema goers can experience them for free.
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A full VR movie experience has landed in Thornbury – and it is here to stay.
Thornbury Picture House, in High St, is the first theatre in Australia to make VR movies a permanent part of their line-up.
The new addition kicked off this week with VR film Rone, a distinct portrait of the famous street artist.
The interactive film takes viewers into rarely-explored places Rone has worked, including an abandoned paper mill, a house set for demolition and a crumbling theatre.
Thornbury Picture House cinema curator Gus Berger said the idea behind making VR a permanent feature was to give people a new cinematic experience.
“VR can transport people into an environment they wouldn’t be able to access normally,” he said.
“It really does take over your senses, it’s 360 vision and you’ve got sound coming in from behind you.”
Each VR film is about 10 minutes in length, and free for cinema patrons with a valid ticket to a regular film on the day.
Two headsets are available, with one film being able to be watched simultaneously.
New films will be chosen each month.
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Mr Berger said so far, everyone was loving the new experience.
“People are interested and have been really surprised at how different it is from what they thought,” he said.
“We don’t show games and it’s not like putting people on a rollercoaster, we’re putting you on a floor in an artist studio to look around and see that space in your own sort of time.”
March’s film will be Carriberrie about indigenous song and dance.
“We’re trying to take that searching out of the way by doing it ourselves – so we can say here’s an amazing short film we’ve found for you … you just need to come in and watch it,” Mr Berger said.