CARNE y ARENA is a timely virtual reality project from Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound that allows people to feel the terror of being apprehended by border patrol.
Academy Award®-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s conceptual virtual reality installation CARNE y ARENA (Virtually present, Physically invisible) explores the human condition of immigrants and refugees. Based on true accounts from Central American and Mexican refugees, CARNE y ARENA blurs and binds together the superficial lines between subject and bystander, allowing individuals to walk in a vast space and live a fragment of a refugee’s personal journey.
In addition to being the first-ever VR Special Selection at the Cannes Film Festival, CARNE y ARENA was awarded a special Oscar in October, 2018 — the first such award in 19 years. CARNE y ARENA is a six-and-a-half- minute solo experience that employs state-of-the-art technology to create a multi-narrative space with human characters. The project reunites frequent collaborators Iñárritu and three-time Academy Award®-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, alongside producer Mary Parent, Legendary Entertainment and ILMxLAB.
• CARNE y ARENA (Virtually present, Physically invisible) – Trailer (YouTube / ILMxLAB)