'Common Ground' and 'The Waiting Room VR' in Forbes Top 50

We are thrilled to share that The Waiting Room VR and Common Ground have been selected in Forbes’ Top 50 XR Experiences of 2019.

2019 was an incredible year for East City Films and it was Common Ground and The Waiting Room VR which gave it such meaning. Common Ground, a 30-minute VR documentary about the Aylesbury housing estate, enjoyed its World Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival in New York where it was received incredibly warmly and was considered a piece of great import and significance, both for its subject matter and its VR filmmaking prowess. It went on to play at Sheffield Doc Fest where it was the talk of the Alternate Realities exhibition. With a special view at the Aylesbury Estate itself, and further screenings in LA, Vancouver, Melbourne and Montreal where it won the Grand Prix for Innovation, there is no doubt that the VR experience enjoyed a critically acclaimed start to its life in 2019. We are excited about getting it seen by more people in 2020.

The Waiting Room VR came a little later in the year with its World Premiere at the Venice Biennale. Director Victoria Mapplebeck created the piece with East City Films, having made a 16:9 30 minute documentary of the same name with The Guardian. The piece is self-authored by Vic and shares her experience of breast cancer from 2017 to 2019. The intimate VR piece contains a 9-minute durational take of a session of radiotherapy which marked the end of 9 months of treatment. In November 2019 The Waiting Room VR played at IDFA in Amsterdam where it won the award for Best Digital Storytelling.

We are honoured and humbled by the inclusion of both pieces of work in Forbes’ Top 50 XR Experiences of 2019. We are in good company and our appreciation is extended to Forbes and our fellow selectees.

For more information on either piece of work click on the following links:
Common Ground
The Waiting Room VR