Dear Angelica,
Last night I watched the animated virtual reality short filmĀ Dear Angelica produced by Oculus Story StudioĀ and felt incredibly moved and hopeful about the form for the first time.
My husband got an Oculus headset at Christmas and Iāve explored a range of games, films and experiences over the past few weeks and have, until now, felt unsatisfied.
While I enjoyed the dystopian workplace short MergerĀ by Keiichi Matsuda I felt that it delivered on a vivid immersive experience but the story lacked emotional depth.
Dear Angelicaā a hit at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival - is an incredibly moving emotional portrait of grief. Ā Itās director and former Pixar artist Sascha Unseld has done a fantastic job of taking you inside the perspective of a woman missing her mother, and exploring the story and emotion in a way only VR can.
I love the painterly visual style of the film and how the narrative is simple and familiar. Unlike in Merger, youāre not constantly asking the film āwhat is this?ā or āwhatās going on now?ā Instead youāre just in it, going deeper into the beautiful visual experience and human emotion.
And while the interaction is minimal, the āscreenā story is immersive and captivating. Dear AngelicaĀ doesnāt require your physical cues to progress the story though the narrative features natural pauses that allow you to look around and experience it.
Bravo!












