5 min
The virtual reality experience "Empereur" is competing at the Kaohsiung Film Festival
With Empereur, Marion Burger and Ilan J. Cohen create a narrative virtual reality experience, directly inspired by the personal experiences of the director. Set in a striking visual universe, they poetically explore a little-known condition, aphasia, while reflecting on the traces of language and how we communicate.
As Empereur competes in the "virtual reality" category at the Kaohsiung Film Festival, from October 12 to 27, 2024, in Taiwan, we present this work, which the Institut français offers for screenings in "La Sélection VR."
A promising start
Graduate in textile design from the Duperré School in 2009, Marion Burger then studied at the Danmarks Designskole in Copenhagen the following year. Passionate about the cross-disciplinary nature of creative mediums, she completed her studies in design and environments at the Sorbonne in 2011. She has since worked on more than a dozen feature films as a production designer. Ilan J. Cohen studied in France and the United States before becoming known as an on-set translator and then as an assistant director. They collaborated on Empereur, their first project as directors.
A novel portrayal of illness
Empereur is inspired by Marion Burger's personal story, particularly that of her father, who has suffered from aphasia for about fifteen years. As a result of this condition, he mixes up words and struggles with every syllable. His cognitive functions and understanding remain intact, but he is no longer able to communicate normally. To depict this illness, the two directors chose to create an interactive and narrative virtual reality experience, inviting the viewer on a journey into the heart of the brain.
A virtual reality experience
Marion Burger and Ilan J. Cohen tell the story of a man who loses his ability to speak, while his daughter continues trying to communicate with him. Actress Vimala Pons lends her voice to this narrative experience, which seeks to explore language and its persistence. In a monochrome palette, inspired by traditional animation, the challenge of coping with illness is portrayed with surreal elements, depicting aphasia as a distant land. This approach allows the filmmakers to tackle a painful subject with both poetry and universality.
A prestigious award at the Venice Film Festival
During her career, Marion Burger's work has already been recognized with the Young Film Technician Award presented by the CST, which she received for her contribution to Léonor Serraille's film Un petit frère. The film Empereur by Marion Burger and Ilan J. Cohen was also celebrated at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, where it won the Achievement Prize in the Venice Immersive section. This virtual reality experience is also nominated at the Kaohsiung Film Festival in Taiwan.
Empereur is a work distributed by the Institut français as part of "La Sélection VR", which allows the French cultural network abroad (Institut français, Alliances Françaises, cultural services of embassies) to showcase the creativity and diversity of French virtual reality works on an international scale.
Empereur is competing at the 2024 Kaohsiung Film Festival, organized with the support of the French Office in Taipei, Villa Formose, and the Institut français.