Virtual Reality for good 

We strongly believe that the limitless potential of virtual reality shouldn’t be restricted to only brands telling their stories. VR offers a level of amazing immersion that can be used to generate empathy. By placing the audience at the epicentre of the world they wish to empathise with, virtual reality content can help garner awareness to the challenges people face on a global scale. Documentation and 3D archiving of archaeological sites, riveting stories from a refugee camp in Syria, or, experiencing what it is like to be blind - VR can offer humanity a ray of hope.

Through VR devices deployed by news organisations such as the New York Times, and multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, users will be so powerfully immersed in, for example, a street demonstration, or a refugee camp, that the empathy they feel may constitute a new strengthening of the fourth estate’s civic role in informing and enlightening the public, to the extent that it can go beyond subjective empathy to develop a shared basis for political participation in civil society.

Our areas of focus:

1. Archaeological restoration, archiving and digitisation

2. Combating gender, racial and caste-based inequality

3. Spreading awareness about pressing environmental issues

4. Creating access points and experiences for people with visual and auditory impairment

5. Digitally curating and archiving experiences from the art and cultural domain

SELECT projects FROM OUR ARCHIVES and around the web:

REVIVING FOLK MUSIC IN SINDH

Take a journey into Pakistan's land of Sindh and feel the spirit of its music and poetry, as Saif fights against its disappearance. A beautiful film, directed by Academy Award winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

PRA-KASHI: Silk, Gold and Silver from the City of Light

For 25 years, Rahul Jain has run the experimental workshop, ASHA, producing some of the world's finest, and rarest, woven silks. Apart from his own research, writing and practice, he has assisted and promoted the traditional weavers and production houses of Varanasi, for which he was awarded, in 2015, the Padma Shri by the Government of India. ASHA's silk panels now feature in several major museum collections, including the British Museum, London; the Musee Guimet, Paris; the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Textile Museum, Washington DC. In 2013, ASHA was selected as one of ten craft workshops from across the world for the Jameel Prize 3, coordinated by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Most recently, in 2016, ASHA's work was featured in 'Fabric of India', a landmark exhibition on the history of Indian textiles at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

'PRA-KASHI: Silk, Gold and Silver from the City of Light', curated by Pramod Kumar KG was on at the National Museum as a special exhibit. We captured this extraordinary exhibit in 360˚ to preserve it for eternity.

NOTES ON BLINDNESS

In 1983, after decades of steady deterioration, John Hull became totally blind. To help him make sense of the upheaval in his life, he began documenting his experiences on audio cassette. These original diary recordings form the basis of this six-part VR experience, an interactive non fiction using new forms of storytelling and gameplay mechanics to explore his cognitive and emotional experience of blindness. Each chapter will address a memory, a moment and a specific location from John’s audio diary, using binaural audio and real time 3D animations to create a fully immersive experience in a ‘world beyond sight’. Based on the feature documentary, ‘Notes on Blindness’ by Peter Middleton and James Spinney. Click here to visit the website.

Mysterés de l'Angkor

The Khmer civilization centered on Angkor was one of the most remarkable to flourish in Southeast Asia. Between the 8th and the 13th centuries, a succession of Hindu and Buddhist kings created magnificent temples in stone. BongWater Films, in 2017, embarked upon a journey to capture Angkor in VR. Our aim is to visualise the magnificent architecture and the glorious cultural heritage of a bygone era in 3D and enable thousands of students, historians, archaeologists and enthusiasts to visit Angor Vat remotely.

The Blackbird Blues

In 1968, the Beatles arrived in northern India to attend an advanced transcendental meditation training session under their newly appointed 'spiritual guru' - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi . The visit, largely followed by the British, American and the European press, was one of the most productive periods for the band. We wouldn't have been listening to the "White Album" without this riverside physical, spiritual and often psychedelic adventure. The Blackbird Blues is an attempt to digitally document and archive the artful mysticism of the ashram - a semi dilapidated heritage site in Uttarakhand, India.

COLLABORATE FOR GOOD!

BongWater Films is seeking active partnerships in the virtual reality domain to create meaningful content that fuels social change. In partnership with global not-for-profit organisations, we are trying to enable talented filmmakers across India get access to the necessary resources to tell their stories. If you feel you can contribute in any possible way or if you need any assistance with formalising your ideas or applying for grants - please do reach out to us.

We are looking for filmmakers, researchers, historians, graphic designers, VR/360˚ enthusiasts, augmented reality developers and 3D modellers. If you have a story for social good, we’re happy to produce it (if we can!). Our areas of focus include - Archaeological Digitisation, Gender Equality, Environmental Safety, Social Injustices and Textile Conservation. Please take a moment to fill out the information below and let’s hope to spread the awareness - one immersive experience at a time!