Gargoyle Doyle, a comedy VR short movie (40′) directed by Ethan Shaftel, won the Cristal for the Best VR Work at Annecy 2024. The film had previously been showcased at other prestigious festivals, including the Venice Immersive selection at the 2023 Venice Biennale, the Imagine Fantastic Film Festival, and the XR competition of the 2024 NewImages Festival.
Doyle is a grumpy, self-important gargoyle with a big chip on his shoulder – literally, as he was damaged in a fall during installation above the cathedral’s main entrance. Relegated to a back alcove with other irregular gargoyles, Doyle resents the hand life has dealt him, especially because he is stuck two feet from Chet, a decorative metal rain gutter, a chatty optimist who never shuts up. Hundreds of years later, as bulldozers surround the cathedral for demolition, the facts of Chet’s mysterious origin are revealed.
Designed for a target audience of 16-35 year olds, the work is an interactive cinematic narrative that seamlessly blends augmented and virtual reality, transporting the viewer into an immersive world. The narrative is experienced through the next generation of mixed-reality headsets, such as Meta Quest Pro, Apple Pro Vision, and Picco, where the viewer’s physical space transforms into a cathedral museum with an exhibit that pulls them into the story.
The project will be available as an installation experience at top film festivals and cultural institutions, as well as for home use on consumer VR headsets. The cast includes Jason Isaacs as Doyle, Haley Joel Osment as Chet, and T’Nia Miller as the narrator.
The director Ethan Shaftel is divided between cinema, virtual reality (VR), and immersive media. His recent work includes, besides Gargoyle Doyle, the VR short Ajax All Powerful. Shaftel has also directed a room-scale experience for Red Bull, was part of the directing team on an experience for AMC’s The Walking Dead, and created a live-action voice-activated VR format for Moth+Flame and Accenture’s Technology Lab. Before VR, Shaftel directed numerous film and interactive projects, including a room-sized 3D video installation for Nike, animated parade floats for Disneyland Tokyo, trivia games for Hasbro and Fox, and music videos and tour content for artists such as Rihanna, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, and Jay-Z.
The formal aspects of spatial media blur the edges of reality in ways that no previous format — cinema included — ever could: the visitor exists in a real room, populated by imagined creatures expressing desires and regrets. In the era of devices that blend actual and virtual spaces so convincingly we must ask ourselves: what is real, and who has the right to exist? – Ethan Shaftel
Ezequiel Lenardon is one of the main producers of Gargoyle Doyle. Since 2011 he has been creating and producing art installations and audiovisual projects in different cities, galleries and museums, mainly in Argentina, Brazil and India. His projects have premiered at Venice, Sundance, Annecy and many other festivals. He was the creative producer of the award-winning VR series 4 Feet High and is currently the production director of Detona Cultura.
The Gargoyle Doyle production is international, as it took place between the Netherlands, Austria, the Usa and Argentina. This was made possible thanks to Detona Cultura, easyAction, Amilux Films, in partnership with Sensus3D, Verité Entertainment, High Priority Game Art, Stringini Animation. Gargoyle Doyle was also supported by Roth Productions, Sfer IK, and Azulik. – Ezequiel Lenardon
For further information visit ethanshaftel.com
