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The VR documentary Lacuna will make its international premiere at SXSW as part of the festival’s XR Spotlight section.

Directed by Maartje Wegdam and Nienke Huitenga Broeren and produced by Corine Meijers, the immersive project invites viewers into the fragmented memories of Sonja, as she reflects on a moment of loss during the Second World War. The experience combines conversations with Sonja, animation, 3D modeling, and personal footage to explore how memory—and the absence of it—can shape identity.

Lacuna previously world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival’s Cannes Immersive program and is designed as both a remembrance project and a broader reflection on how people reconstruct the past through imagination.

The VR experience will be available during SXSW’s XR Spotlight Experiences, running daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Fairmont Hotel in Austin through March 17.

Singer Studios has announced exciting expansions to their Emmy-nominated virtual reality experience The Pirate Queen, featuring Lucy Liu. The groundbreaking project, which immerses audiences in the extraordinary life of Cheng Shih—history’s most powerful pirate—will now include a graphic novel series and a podcast. Directed by Eloise Singer and narrated by Liu, The Pirate Queen tells the story of Cheng Shih, who commanded a 70,000-strong fleet during the lead-up to the Opium Wars. The original VR experience, based on a story by Maja Bodenstein, earned widespread acclaim in 2023, winning the Tribeca Storyscapes Award and the Raindance Discovery Award. It is currently nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Emerging Media category.

The upcoming graphic novel, to be published worldwide by Andrews McMeel Publishing, will kick off The Pirate Queen series co-created by Singer and Liu. The expansive project will continue to explore the world of history’s most formidable female pirates, telling the stories of 17 women who led pirate fleets across the globe.

“Launching The Pirate Queen as a graphic novel series presents an incredible opportunity to dive deeper into the legendary stories of these female pirate leaders,” said Eloise Singer, founder of Singer Studios and co-creator of the graphic novel. “We’re honored to collaborate with Andrews McMeel Publishing, whose legacy has helped shape the literary world for generations.”
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