Cannes opens up to the vision of video game creators with the participation of Hideo Kojima and Tetsuya Mizuguchi
Cannes is dressing up and putting down the red carpet for the 78th edition of its film festival, an edition that will bring together the cream of the seventh art from all over the world for a week of cinema and meetings between industry professionals, actors, and critics. This year there will be plenty of cinema, as always, but video games (and especially their creators) will also have a prominent presence, with names of the stature of Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Hideo Kojima.
A creative historian at Sega in the early 90s, Tetsuya Mizuguchi made a name for himself in the industry for his avant-garde artistic vision and as an explorer of new technologies to be applied to video games, and to him we owe titles as immersive as Tetris Effect, Lumines, Humanity, or Rez Infinity at his current company, Enhance Games, of which he is the founder. Now he will participate for the first time as a member of the jury in Cannes for the Immersive Competition. This initiative is a showcase of immersive or interactive cinema works, which include projections on walls, interactions with AI, virtual reality or even video games. This year the Spanish representation is strong with Fillos do Vento: A RAPA.
Hideo Kojima, perhaps because of his more media impact, requires less presentation, but the charismatic visionary of Kojima Productions comes to Cannes to participate in a panel on the use of technology in the construction of unique narratives alongside established filmmaker Fatih Akin. While Akin will present his latest film “Amrum”, Kojima will discuss the motion capture systems and other cutting-edge technologies he has employed in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Interestingly, his good friend (and Death Stranding actor) Guillermo del Toro will also be at Cannes on the same day as a speaker on another panel.
The panel discussion, entitled “How does technology influence storytelling?”, will take place on 18 May at 17:15 CEST on the main stage (Riviera) of the Marché du Film and will also be streamed live on PlayStation’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
Gamereactor brings you the latest news from Cannes 78 first hand
It will undoubtedly be a memorable event where many filmmakers will take their first steps towards new ways of creating the cinema of the future. Gamereactor will be there to attend the panel and see several of the screenings at the Immersive Competition, so stay tuned for our special coverage over the next few days.
78th Cannes Film Festival kicks off today
The 78th edition of the Festival de Cannes runs from May 13 to 24, bringing together over 35,000 professionals and film lovers from 150 countries. Over 12 days, the global film industry will gather on the iconic Cannes Croisette to celebrate the diversity and creativity of world cinema showcased in the Official Selection.