Case Study: Kusunda - The Art of Using Interactive VR to Engage the Audience

Gayatri Parameswaran, Co-Founder, NowHere Media, Germany I Dr. Mandana Seyfeddinipur, Director, Endangered Languages Documentation Programme & Endangered Languages Archive, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Germany

What makes a language fall asleep? What does it take to awaken one? Kusunda is a voice-driven virtual reality experience about revitalising a dormant indigenous language in Nepal. Creators at NowHere Media -- a leading immersive studio for impact-driven storytelling -- embarked on a long co-creative journey with members of the Kusunda community to produce the VR experience, which recently won the Grand Jury Storyscapes Award at the Tribeca Film Festival. Co-director Gayatri Parameswaran talks about the challenges and opportunities of working with virtual reality as a tool for documenting intangible cultural heritage. Dr. Mandana Seyfeddinipur, Director of the Endangered Languages Archive & Endangered Languages Documentation Programme at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities and scientific cooperation partner shares challenges as well as chances in working with members of the media when it comes to marginalised communities.