MURALS

Directors Alex Topaller & Daniel Shapiro (Aggressive, USA) and Scanning Artist and Protagonist Artem Ivanenko (Mriya, Ukraine) and Producers: Radosława Bardes (ATM Virtual, Poland), Maciej Żemojcin (PixelRace, Poland), and Maxim Dudko (Mriya, Ukraine) are available for interviews in Cannes.

MURALS by Artem Ivanenko, Alex Topaller & Daniel Shapiro is world premiering at Cannes Next in this year’s edition of the Marché du Film during the Cannes Film Festival. The unique documentary experience combines film, 3D technology, immersive projection, and captures 3D scans of Banksy’s murals on a series of destroyed buildings in and around Kyiv. It confronts viewers with the devastating war of aggression and aims at showing the reality of conflict, while preserving Ukrainian cultural heritage. MURALS will be showcased during the festival in the Palais des Festivals in Cannes.

SYNOPSIS
MURALS is an immersive documentary experience using cutting-edge 3D scans of recently devastated homes and architectural sites around war-ravaged Ukraine. Through the combined use of light, sound, innovative 3D scanning technologies, and Unreal Engine, these virtual shattered walls tell the stories of lives lost. The images of Banksy’s artwork – which he painted on destroyed buildings during a trip to Ukraine in November 2022 in solidarity with the Ukrainian people – speaks louder than words. These murals highlight everyday life in the face of destruction and strengthen the message that one day, life will blossom out from the ruins again.

The non-profit art project MURALS is the launch of a larger venture by 3D artist Artem Ivanenko from Irpin aimed at creating a digital record of the country, its history, contemporary art and cultural heritage to document the destruction and to be able to rebuild a new country after the war. The highly detailed, real 3D models are intended as scientific, educational, social and legal evidence of Russia’s crimes in Ukraine.

MURALS uses a next level 3D scanning technology. It is a combination of few methods of 3D scanning merged together for a higher fidelity representation of the scanned object. The experience is created and rendered in Unreal Engine and shown on high end LED True Performance screens.

The focus of Cannes Next is to highlight the future of the art of cinema and storytelling at the broadest to the global audience. The program encompasses showcases and experiences blending cinema and technology, fireside chats with forerunners in storytelling and technology, debates and showcases of innovation, and activities endorsing and promoting equal, democratic social, and sustainable actions in the industry.

MURALS received financial support from the Polish – Ukrainian Film Initiatives Operational Program. The fund was launched in April 2022 by the Polish Film Institute. The initiative was one of the first of its kind in Europe and is solely dedicated to the cooperation between Polish and Ukrainian filmmakers.
The project is under the umbrella of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture.

Mr. Artem Ivanenko – Project Initiator, Scanning Artist and Protagonist, Ukraine
3D artist, art director, and co-founder of Mriya Production. He has been working in 3D graphics and animation for 20 years. He started with architectural design and moved to commercials and film. 8 months before the war in Ukraine started, he opened a company that produces virtual production worlds for Virtual Production.

Mr. Alex Topaller – Director, Aggressive, United States

Mr. Daniel Shapiro – Director, Aggressive, United States

Grammy award-winning filmmakers and founders of the New York-based, design-driven, production company Aggressive. Technique agnostics by nature, they focus on story before seamlessly blending performance, design, visual effects, and technology to produce disruptive, emotionally impactful work for some of the world’s biggest brands and artists. With the breakout of the war in Ukraine, Aggressive created Paper Planes, a project that supports Ukrainian artists and creatives, as well as provides urgent aid through its partner initiative Ukraine.Express.

Mrs. Radoslawa Bardes – Producer, ATM Virtual, Poland
Polish award-winning film producer and the managing director of ATM Virtual Studio, the first professional virtual production studio in Poland. Radosława has led the company to new heights by embracing cutting- edge technologies and innovative storytelling techniques. Under her leadership, ATM Virtual Studio has become synonymous with high-quality content and has earned a reputation for consistently pushing the boundaries of technology.

Mr. Maciej Zemojcin – VP Producer, PixelRace, Poland
First Virtual Production producer in Poland. In everyday work, he acts as a VP specialist and script consultant for the application of technology in storytelling. CEO of PixelRace, the virtual production software and 3D scanning company. Technical-driven films and technology in storytelling is his passion. It is all about the game engine, high-speed shots, motion control and other futuristic technologies.

Mr. Maxim Dudko – UE Technical Director, VFX Artist, Ukraine
3D artist, technical director, and co-founder of Mriya Production. Before 2014, event entertainment producer. After the first invasion, he worked in 3D graphics and animation for commercials and film. 8 months before the war started, he opened a company that produces virtual production worlds for Virtual Production.

Produced by
ATM Virtual – virtual production studio in Warsaw, Poland – http://www.atmvirtual.pl
Mriya – virtual production asset creation, Kiev, Ukraine – https://mriya.productions/

In cooperation with
PixelRace – 3D scanning and virtual production software, Warsaw, Poland – www.pixelrace.com
Aggressive – design-driven, production company, New York, USA – www.Aggressive.tv
Tigrelab – creative post-production studio focused on technology, Barcelona, Spain – https://tigrelab.com/

Patronage
Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine
Cannes Next, Marché Du Film, Festival de Cannes

Supported by
Polish Film Institute, True Performance LED, We Play, El Designs, LGL-IPLaw, Disguise, Studio 727, NAMovie, L-Acoustics

 

8,5 min. / Poland – Ukraine – USA 2023 / color / 3D documentary experience

©/CREDITS:

Stills: ©