Canadian Premiere

Interactive Virtual Reality

Stay Alive My Son (Chapters 1 & 2)

Directed by:

Victoria Bousis

Country:

Greece / USA

Runtime:

55m

Summary:

Transpiring over 45 years and based on the internationally acclaimed memoirs of Pin Yathay, “Tu Vivras, Mon Fils” (“Stay Alive, My Son”), this epic, immersive, and cinematic experience places the Player in the shoes of a pained father, who was forced to make the gut-wrenching decision to abandon his 6-year old son to survive during the Cambodian genocide.

The Player meets a fragile 80-year-old man, represented by a digital human, only to discover the demons that haunt him for decisions made. The Player transforms into him. In a gripping “Alice In Wonderland” moment, the Player falls through reality and begins a fantastical journey for atonement.

Landing in the cavernous bowels of his labyrinth mental prison, we learn about the history of Cambodia and bear witness to Yathay’s deepest regrets. By reliving and confronting the past, the Player experiences decades of guilt for decisions made and anguish from the uncertainty of his son’s whereabouts. On a mythical branch, the Player is taken to a shadowed heart, metaphorically represented by the wondrous temple of Angkor Wat, to seek salvation.

Ultimately, the Player realizes Yathay’s will to endure the unimaginable fueled a deeper purpose to reclaim all he lost by living.

Familial love was the light in the dark, leading him to his lost son again and healing his heart.

Director Bio:

Victoria Bousis earned a Master’s in Media, Technology, and Innovation from MIT, converging cinema, gaming, and neuroscience to deliver powerful stories experienced differently.

Her directorial debut is the groundbreaking immersive film Stay Alive, My Son, based on the true story of Pin Yathay. Chapter One was officially selected in Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Bifan, Thessaloniki, and FilmGate with acclaim. Chapter Two premiered at SXSW in 2023, winning the PGA Innovation Award making movie history as the first interactive and immersive full-length movie in VR. She is considered a visionary and pioneering voice in XR and a specialist in spatial computing, speaking at TEDxMIT, NAB, HPA, and SIGGRAPH.