18'
Programmed by Aurélien Marsais
Synopsis
Within the French and American armies, virtual reality prepares soldiers for their future battles just as it treats post-traumatic stress disorder after their baptism of fire. Antoine Chapon meets Cyril, former military video game designer and a veteran, who is dealing with the return to civilian life and loss of identity.
Tënk's opinion
Since 2013, the French and American armies have been recruiting their soldiers via online video-game competitions. The best players get offered a contract to set off for combat in a radical switch from the virtual to the real world. Antoine Chapon records Cyril’s story, narrated by a female voiceover. Back on “Civvy Street”, Cyril seeks escape by frenetically creating virtual worlds, looking for relief and peace in new “relaxing” spaces – because this eventual liberation from the alienation he suffers from seems to occur through a crucial element that’s ignored in combat: observing nature and wandering through landscapes, a backdrop forgotten in the theatre of war. Chapon recreates them in “My Own Landscapes”, portraying identities under reconstruction in the parallel worlds of virtual reality.
Aurélien Marsais
Programmer
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