ZIKR is the first VR documentary to be acquired at the Sundance Film Festival
Created by Award-Winning filmmakers Gabo Arora, John Fitzgerald and Matthew Niederhauser
Leading documentary producer, sales agent and theatrical distributor, Dogwoof, has acquired the politically charged, multiplayer, virtual reality documentary, ZIKR: A SUFI REVIVAL, directed by Gabo Arora, produced by Jennifer Tiexiera, and created by Sensorium, Superbright, and Tomorrow Never Knows. It is the first time a VR documentary has been acquired at the Sundance Film Festival.
Brokered on the last day of the Festival by Dogwoof’s Andy Whittaker and Tomorrow Never Knows, Nathan Brown, the agreement entails funding to support additional development, including an unprecedented online version of the VR experience allowing multiple players to be networked at once into the experience from around the world. Dogwoof will also lead on global representation and distribution with a location based installations at high profile international cultural centers, cinemas and museums. This is the first public project for Tomorrow Never Knows, a newly formed VR/AR/AI startup founded by industry pioneers Arora, Brown, Saschka Unseld and Tom Lofthouse.
There is real demand and a growing market for distinctive storytelling in VR/AR said Brown, CEO of Tomorrow Never Knows. To partner with Andy and Dogwoof, one of the world’s most acclaimed producers and distributors of non-fiction stories, is more than a signal, it’s a lightning bolt for the entire industry.
Having changed the face of non-fiction storytelling in the past decade, Dogwoof, and their newly formed VR-focused company, Other Set, are now poised to change how users engage with these crucial stories of social impact in VR. The acquisition of ZIKR adds to their award-winning and visionary catalog including Blackfish, The Act of Killing and OJ: Made in America.
ZIKR is a gem. A profoundly moving VR experience, which will change people’s perspectives, commented Dogwoof founder Andy Whittaker. We cannot wait to show it to international festivals, theaters, museums and art venues knowing it can have the kind of profound impact Alejandro piece has had at LACMA.
Gabo Arora, director of ZIKR, commented: Andy and his team at Dogwoof, have proven themselves over and over with their work in traditional documentary. And, with their first VR acquisition with ZIKR, they will bring their same tenacious spirit to making sure more and more people can experience a story very pertinent to what’s happening in the world now. I couldn’t dream of a better home for ZIKR or a better team than Dogwoof for global distribution. I am honoured to be joining their award winning.
ZIKR: A Sufi Revival premiered January 19th in the New Frontier section of the Sundance Film Festival. The film takes four participants on an interactive, virtual reality journey into a world of ecstatic ritual and music in order to explore the nature of faith alongside followers of this mystical Islamic tradition. By opening up an experience to Sufism, dancing and singing alongside members of the Tunisian group Association de la Renaissance du Maalouf et du Chant Soufi de Sidi Bou Sa it aims to shed light on a crucially misrepresented religion, revealing an Islamic practice of inclusion, acceptance, art, joy and understanding.
ZIKR: A Sufi Revival is created by award-Winning filmmakers Gabo Arora, John Fitzgerald and Matthew Niederhauser, and by SENSORIUM, SUPERBRIGHT, and TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS, in partnership with BoomGen Studios and 1001 Media. It is produced by Jennifer Tiexiera, with executive producers Reza Aslan, Mayhad Tousi, Mohab Tarek Khattab, Eva L. Burns, and Cameron Brodie.
