A Thin Black Line
A VRTOV-BBC co production, this multi-award winning VR fairy tale has delighted audiences worldwide with its enchanting story, gorgeous real-time visuals and groundbreaking interactive sound.
A Thin Black Line
VRTOV / doublewire productions 2017
When bombs rain down on their hometown, a family is broken apart. A young girl is forced to flee by boat; her father, to stay behind.
For young Patima, the war had always seemed a distant threat. But when the bombs reach her hometown, she is forced to flee; leaving her father behind.
The bombing of Darwin in 1942 was the first and largest aerial attack on mainland Australia during the Second World War. As bombers strafed the lightly defended city, nearly half the civilian population fled southwards in the belief a Japanese invasion was imminent. Amongst them was Indigenous filmmaker Douglas Watkin’s mother, just five-years old at the time.
An animated documentary in interactive real-time Virtual Reality, A Thin Black Line invites the audience to step into a pivotal event in the history of one family, and a nation, as seen by a young child. Directed by Douglas Watkin, with VR direction by Oscar Raby and art by acclaimed Aboriginal artist Vernon Ah Kee, A Thin Black Line tells the story of a family’s struggle to stay together in the face of war. With thanks to Patricia Watkin for generously sharing her family’s story, this project was commissioned by SBS Australia and made with the support of Screen Queensland and Screen Australia. Available for Gear VR.
Credits
SELECTED Press
