View Stories of Home in 3D on the Occulus Store by clicking the above link and using a VR headset.
Most current applications for virtual reality filmmaking lie in the commercial or gaming realm. StoryCenter’s Artist-in-Residence Parul Wadhwa has expanded the vision of our Stories of Home program by adding virtual reality (VR) filmmaking techniques to the mix. With Parul’s support and guidance, a small group of three immigrant and refugee women came together online in 2020, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, to explore and share memories of material objects they hold most dear. In this participatory workshop, the women identified objects of significance in their lives, told stories, and reflected on their intersecting identities as women, migrants, mothers, daughters, people of color, activists, healers, and artists.
From this collaborative process, story scripts emerged and were audio recorded by the storytellers. Parul then worked with 3D illustrators, programmers, and sound designers to craft a set of individual VR videos, which enable viewers to literally enter into stories they have never encountered, thus opening the possibility of connection and intimacy between storytellers and story watchers. Watch the Stories of Home VR Trailer.
Our hope is that the vulnerability of the storytellers in sharing their own precious memories will in turn spark poignant memories of home for viewers, and that in this shared emotional space, compassion can grow. Special thanks to the Ngawang, Nahid, and Anju for collaborating with us on these stories. The three VR stories produced include (shown here as 2D videos on YouTube):
The Prayerbook. Ngawang Lama was born in Nepal to Tibetan parents who left their country due to the Chinese occupation. She was brought up in Nepal and India, and has to date never visited her home country (Tibet). Ngawang immigrated to the U.S. in 2017, with her husband and their two children. She currently works as a nursing assistant in an assisted-living facility in Berkeley, California, and is attending classes to become a registered nurse. In her VR story, Ngawang shares her own connection to a precious Buddhist prayer scroll. Passed down to her through generations, the scroll reminds her of her grandmother and mother. Taking care of it has been a constant in Ngawang’s long journey. She prays to the scroll daily and draws wisdom from it about how to live her life– with strength, fortitude, and compassion.
The Poet. Nahid Fattahi is an Afghan-American writer, activist, and mental health practitioner who uses storytelling and poetry to create new narratives of refugees and others whose voices are often silenced. She works in the San Francisco Bay Area as an adjunct professor of psychology and as a psychotherapist. Nahid’s VR story is a tribute to the gift of poetry that she received from her father. As a young girl, she wrote her first poem at age eight and used to recite poetry for guests in her family’s home in Afghanistan, until they were forced to flee the country during its war with the Soviet Union in the 1980s. After subsequently being trafficked as a child bride, Nahid arrived in the U.S. with a book of poems inscribed with a still-intact dedication from her now-deceased father. She cherishes the book and dedication to this day.
The Red Ribbon. Anju Subba and her family came to the U.S. in 2010, as part of the resettlement of Nepalis who escaped ethnic cleansing in Bhutan. She lived and worked in the Bay Area as an aesthetician and a leader serving the Bhutanese refugee community, before moving to Pennsylvania in early 2021. In Anju’s VR story, she speaks of the bright red ribbon she was required to wear in the school she attended, located in the refugee camp in Nepal where she grew up. Her mother insisted that she keep her hair short, as it was easier to care for, that way. As a girl, Anju wanted to wear her hair down, but she and her friends did their best to tie their colored ribbons in creative ways. Now, she brings this creative flair to her work as a hairstylist.
Stories of Home has screened at the following film festivals: Austin Indie Fest (U.S.), Beijing International Film Festival (China), Bilbao Seriesland Web Fest Festival (Spain), deadCenter Film Festival of Oklahoma City (U.S.; recipient of Honorable Mention); FIVARS - Festival of International Virtual & Augmented Reality Stories (Canada), Florida Film Festival (U.S.; an Academy Award qualifying film festival), Harlem International Film Festival (U.S.; winner of the Best of VR award category), Palm Springs Animation Festival, World Film Carnival (Singapore; winner of a Best of AR/VR Certificate of Achievement). The project was also screened online by the California Film Institute and presented in the 360 films exhibition section of the Diversity and Inclusion Research Conference in New York City.
Special thanks to our community partners at the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants’ Wellness in Action program, the East Bay Refugee and Immigrant Forum, and the California Film Institute, for their support. This project has been supported in part by an anonymous family foundation located in the San Francisco Bay Area; the East Bay Fund for Artists; and the California Arts Council, a state agency.
If you’re interested in making a contribution to further our work with Stories of Home, donate now.
