Sundance New Frontier Gets Its Own Cardboard Virtual Reality App

Virtual reality is one of the biggest buzz words at this year’s Sundance film festival, and so it’s only fitting that the festival’s New Frontier selection got its own virtual reality (VR) app. Built by IM360, the free Android app offers users with access to a Google Cardboard VR viewer the ability to immerse themselves into some of the experiences that are part of this year’s New Frontier VR selection.

Some of the experiences available through the app include “Fabulous Wonder.Land”, a music video built by London’s National Theatre as an extension of the stage show by the same name, “Waves of Grace” from Chris Milk’s VRSE studio and the pilot episode of “Defrost”, the new serialized Sci-Fi VR drama from Randal Kleiser, who is best known as the director of “Grease” and “The Blue Lagoon”.

SEE MORE: Randal Kleiser’s Sci-Fi Virtual Reality Drama ‘Defrost’ Debuts at Sundance

Altogether, the app is offering access to 11 New Frontier titles. Some, including “Waves” from Wevr and Reggie Watts, are notably absent; a spokesperson for IM360 said that there is no word on if or when those titles may be included in the app.

Some users have reported difficulties accessing some of the experiences within the app. IM360’s spokesperson told Variety that the company is releasing a software update to deal with these issues.

This year’s Sundance festival is in many ways a coming-out party for VR. A year ago, VR still seemed like a futuristic technology inaccessible to most consumers. That changed this time around, with Samsung releasing its Gear VR mobile virtual reality headset last fall, and Oculus getting ready to release its Rift headset in two months.

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