The Folkestone Elephant

Director: Leo Metcalf

Year: 2025

Haunted by unanswered questions about himself, Olly journeys through his past. His story unfolds in two starkly contrasting realms: the raw simplicity of his childhood, captured in his own drawings, and the fluid, surreal world of his dreams. We glimpse the fractured memories of his early years: an abusive father, a mother lost in the haze of the past, and his sister Sally, a beacon who urged him to find escape and control within his own imagination, transforming nightmares into refuges from reality. <br /> Official Selection Raindance Film Festival 2025 - World premiere <br /> Official Selection Venice International Film Festival (Biennale Cinema) 2025 - International premiere

Director: Maisha Wester

Year: 2025

A bold, narrative-driven experience that immerses players in the hidden and haunting histories of anti-Blackness in the US and UK.<br /> <br /> This is an experience designed to be difficult – mentally and emotionally. Drawing from primary sources, historical records and scholarly analysis, Coded Black offers a journey through past atrocities and moments of triumph.<br /> <br /> Explore two distinct, atmospheric scenes – a plantation and a modern 20th-century city – each filled with real historical documents and audio visual storytelling. With a structure that surfaces different content in each run, Coded Black is a narrative crafted for both personal reflection and educational engagement.<br /> <br /> The game deals with the historical topic of slavery and racism, and therefore includes descriptions of violent acts, images of devices used for the chastisement of enslaved people, and archival imagery depicting victims of lynching. Note, there is a museum version available with the lynching images disabled.

Director: Salma Shalaby

Year: 2025

The Canaries’ Experience Genre: Mixed Reality / Magical Realism / Emotional Drama Format: Immersive VR Film Synopsis: In a world where silence can be fatal, The Canaries’ Experience invites viewers into a deeply emotional and symbolic journey through the mind of Will, a young man silently battling despair. Guided by a mystical canary—an ancient symbol of safety in coal mines—viewers traverse a surreal landscape that blends memory, emotion, and myth. As Will’s inner world unravels, the canary’s song becomes a lifeline—its presence a sign of hope, its silence a chilling warning. Through immersive soundscapes, binaural audio, and haptic feedback, the audience experiences Will’s emotional highs and lows: from the suffocating silence of isolation to the transcendent transformation of the God Canary, a divine guide born from pain and resilience. Blending magical realism with therapeutic design, this VR experience is not just a story—it’s a meditation on vulnerability, connection, and the power of being heard. In the end, the canaries rise—not just as symbols of survival, but as beacons of collective healing.