Flow, by Andriaan Lokman

Born in Haarlem in the Netherlands, Adriaan Lokman holds a degree in illustration and audiovisual design from the Willem de Kooning Academie in Rotterdam. Living and working in France, this pioneer of 3D animation produces often experimental films, which are regularly selected and awarded. The most recent of these works include Flow, dedicated to the powers of wind, and Timeshells, a hypnotic meditation on the illusions of light. As a sharer of knowledge, he regularly runs masterclasses and has sat on numerous juries at festivals such as the Annecy Animation Festival, the HAFF in Utrecht, the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival and the Roanne Animated Short Film Festival. 

A fifteen-minute sensory experience without dialogue, Flow shows viewers the twists and turns of the wind. While invisible objects and beings are shaped by gusts of wind, scents, temperature changes and human breath sketch out a dream-like choreography, with a woman as the main protagonist. Entirely based on the characteristics of a natural element that has no form of its own, but freely embraces all others, Flow explores how technology can enable us to see the world around us differently. 

Designed to be experienced using a virtual reality headset, Flow is a long-incubated project. It all began from the premise that “by painting with the wind, it becomes possible to give a new interpretation of reality”. Lokman wanted to create a piece that would take advantage of virtual reality's 360-degree to give consistency to an element - wind - that is perceived by humans primarily through senses such as touch and smell rather than sight. This immersion is especially successful thanks to the soundtrack of this short yet intense experience - a true work of art. 

Flow is the result of a collaboration between Adriaan Lokman and Lucid Realities, an immersive and interactive content production and distribution company founded by Chloé Jarry and François Bertrand in 2018. Selected at over a dozen festivals, including the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and the Vienna Indie Short Film Festival, this short marks the culmination of formal research carried out for over two decades on the aesthetic potential of three-dimensional animation.