Synopsis
Bystanding: The Feingold Syndrome is an immersive-interactive VR docufiction exploring the drowning and rescue of Israeli rowing champion Jasmine Finegold. In 2009, Feingold lost consciousness and capsized while rowing in Tel Aviv's Ha’Yarkon River. Jasmine stayed submerged for five minutes. During that time, none of the dozens of spectators and passersby on the riverbank took any action to help her, until finally, one person did.
Using novel techniques of volumetric capture, photogrammetry, animations, and 360º videos, Bystanding allows participants to embody bystanders’ point of view, listen to their thoughts and witness their deepest confessions from that day. Each bystander’s perspective is represented as a wholly different memory, providing a glimpse into the individual’s stream-of-consciousness.
Bystanding generates a strong memory for participants, and aims to raise questions about our responsibilities towards people in distress, and specifically deals with "the bystander effect".
Bystanding: The Feingold Syndrome is an immersive VR film created by Nim Shapira and Roi Lev. The film will world premiere at Tribeca festival 2021 and compete in Tribeca Immerse best non-fiction competition.
'Bystanding' is an immersive interactive VR docufiction. It explores the confessions of people who witnessed a kayak-rower drown for four and a half minutes, and did not jump in. Using novel techniques of volumetric capture, photogrammetry, animations, and 360 videos, 'Bystanding' recreates the capsize and drowning of Israeli kayaking champion Jasmine Feingold in Tel Aviv's River in 2009. Like a Rashomon, It allows participants to experience bystanders’ points of view and testimonies from that day. Participants are being transported to the park for 4.5 minutes, the time Jasmine spent underwater, in which they can literally step into bystanders’ bodies to witness their inner thoughts and deepest confessions. Each bystander confession is experienced as a totally different memory from that day, providing a glimpse to this person’s “stream of consciousness”. 'Bystanding' generates a strong memory for participants, and aims to raise questions about our responsibilities towards people in distress, and specifically deals with "the bystander effect".
● The film was co-produced with Montreal-based studio KNGFU and Berlin-based studio Another World.
● The film was supported by Pais, Gesher, and Makor Israeli film funds, the
Canada Media Fund (CMF), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, and KAN the
Israeli public broadcast.
● Nim Shapira, the director: “We were interested in exploring the dissonance between a virtual reality experience in which participants hope to be as active as possible and the actual event (“reality”), where people are not active. The viewers become active participants in the experience, choosing what story they want to focus on. While the park’s environment is hyperrealistic, the streams of consciousness of the bystanders were created by several animators to convey a Rashomon-like experience. The film
ends five minutes in - the time Jasmine spent underwater, with footage of the actual good Samaritan rescuing her. The transition from the hyper-realistic environment into the actual video footage makes an extremely powerful impact”.
Director
Credits
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Key Collaborator: AnotherWorldVR (Ioulia ISSERLIS and Max SACKER) and KNGFU
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Screenwriter: Lior ZALMANSON
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Volumetric Technology: Tetavi
