New HBO Documentary WE MET IN VIRTUAL REALITY Explores the World of VR
Virtual Reality has been evolving for quite some time and continues to grow. There are people that make meaningful connections in the virtual space and this is what HBO is exploring in the new documentary We Met In Virtual Reality. The film is directed by Joe Hunting and was filmed entirely in VR featuring several communities. Throughout, we’ll follow an ASL teacher trying to make VR more welcoming for deaf and hard of hearing users named Jenny, the long distance couple of DustBunny who is a fitness dance instructor and Toaster, and another long distance couple of DragonHeart and IsYourBoi who met through an exotic VR dance community where they perform.
Filmed entirely inside the world of virtual reality (VR), this immersive and revealing documentary roots itself in several unique communities within VR Chat, a burgeoning virtual reality platform. Through observational scenes captured in real-time, in true documentary style, the film reveals the growing power and intimacy of several relationships formed in the virtual world, many of which began during the COVID-19 lockdown while so many in the physical world were facing intense isolation. Although remaining wholly within the VR domain of avatars and imagined worlds, the film has elements of humor, serendipitous interactions and unexpected events that characterize real life. WE MET IN VIRTUAL REALITY tenderly documents the stories of people experiencing love, loss and unexpected connection, expressing vulnerability around mental health struggles and questions about identity, offering a hyper-real journey into the human experience of an online world that may soon shape the future.
I think it’s good to remember and be shown that some people do make positive impacts and positive relationships in virtual spaces. There are people I know who have met their best friends online. It isn’t always some dark place like so many make it out to be. We Met In Virtual Reality will premiere on HBO on July 27 and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
