ITEM 7 is proud to announce that its very first production in virtual reality, Marco & Polo Go Round, has been selected to be part of the Tribeca Film Festival’s immersive programming, which will take place June 9-20 in New York City. The narrative animated short film is co-produced with the Belgian company Belga Productions with the help of Montreal VR studio DPT and the financial participation of ARTE.

Marco & Polo Go Round is an immersive love story written by Gregory Kaufman and Benjamin Steiger Levine and directed by Benjamin Steiger Levine. The narrative VR experience was produced using a volumetric capture of actors recorded in live motion, coupled with traditional animation and virtual physical simulations.

On the morning of his birthday, MARCO (Emmanuel Schwartz) discovers the cake that POLO (Léane Labrèche-Dor) lovingly prepared for him and placed on the kitchen table. He also notes that all the objects in the kitchen have been covered with tape and string, as if to protect yourself from an impending storm. What begins as a beautiful morning for the young couple takes a surreal turn when their world literally spills around them.

Benjamin Steiger Levine portrays existence through unexpected stories, both touching and disturbing. This balance between charm and discomfort, humanity and visual wonder is the heart of his work. Ben was honored as the best new director at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. He was named Young Gun by the ADC (the Arts Directors Club of New York), nominated for best music video at the Grammys and received Cannes Lions for his work in advertising.

Presented at Item 7 by Audrey Pacart, independent producer and specialist in VR Marco & Polo Go Round offers brand new perspectives and we are thrilled and excited by the challenge of presenting great narrative stories in immersive and virtual reality.  We team up with Audrey to develop several other projects and are proud to launch their new division with Ben’s VR experience,  Marco & Polo Go Round“, Pierre Even, president of Item 7. producer and VR specialist,

Produced by Audrey Pacart, Paul-E. Audet and Pierre Even from ITEM 7 and co-produced by Alain-Gilles Viellevoye of Belga Productions, this Canada-Belgium co-production benefited from the financial participation of the Canada Media Fund with Wallimage Enterprise and Creative Wallonia as part of the Canada-Wallonia Digital Media Incentive for Multiplatform Projects, Telefilm Canada, the Quebec Film and Television Tax Credit – SODEC, the Belga Films Fund, the Belgian Tax Shelter, the Canadian Film Production Tax Credit and the Canadian Film Production Tax Credit. Paul Bouchard’s international distribution and sales are handled at Diversion Cinéma.