“What does the hangman think about when he goes home at night from work?”

Inspired by the 1922 Carl Sandburg poem of the same title, acclaimed artists and filmmakers Michelle and Uri Kranot have created a multi-media project, that has three distinct and singular outputs: Exploring themes of acknowledgement and participation across mediums.

• The Hangman at Home – an animated short film (world premiere at the Krakow Film Festival – 2021);
• The Hangman at Home – VR – a single-user immersive experience (world premiere at the Venice Biennale – 2020);
• We Are at Home – a multi-user VR performance / installation (world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival – 2021).

It is a co-production between Late Love Production (Denmark), Miyu Productions (France), Floréal Films (France) and the National Film Board of Canada.

With their latest project, Michelle and Uri Kranot continue to explore the frontiers of immersive art and moving images, using multi-platform storytelling to create interactive worlds.

Both The Hangman at Home – VR single-user immersive experience and the We Are at Home multi-user VR installation present a captivating, poetic habitat that transcends the medium and prompts users to question the consequences of our actions and inaction. The experience expands on the notion of witnessing and observation, by going further to ask about implication and responsibility. It is a beautiful, delicate, and contemporary call for awakening.

The animation is hand-painted frame-by-frame with acrylic, a technique that allows for a rich though subtle examination of characters, gestures, and behaviours. The series of “living paintings” shines a light on private, domestic spaces, which are positioned within a clever, fragmented narrative.

Though all the components of this multi-media project deal with the theme of acknowledgement; the two VR experiences are separate and independent from The Hangman at Home animated short. They are an interactive call for participation and discovery, and a non-linear journey through changing environments. When offered as an immersive scenography and installation for a group of participants, the project expands to become an event ­– the We Are at Home multi-user VR installation, which allows audience members to meet both in VR and outside it, and to engage with multiple layers of narrative and striking imagery.

The project has been supported by: the Danish Film Institute, the West Danish Film Fund, the CNC (Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée), Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Charente county council (as part of Pôle Image Magelis) The Animation Workshop/ VIA University College and The Danish Arts Foundation.

“What does the hangman think about when he goes home at night from work?”

Inspired by the 1922 Carl Sandburg poem of the same title, The Hangman at Home explores themes of acknowledgement and participation.

The animated film invites you into five interwoven stories featuring people caught in a pivotal moment: they are fragile, playful, terrified, contemplative, confused, curious. We watch their intimate deeds in a reflective state, and they gaze back, transforming us from spectators to witnesses. The film is not about hanging people, but about the awkward intimacy that comes with being human, and the connection between spectator, witness, and accomplice. The Hangman at Home reveals that we are all alike in these moments, while also raising questions of responsibility.

The Hangman at Home is a co-production between Late Love Production (Denmark), Miyu Productions (France), Floréal Films (France) and the National Film Board of Canada.

NORTH AMERICA: National Film Board of Canada, distribution@nfb.ca

REST OF THE WORLD: Luce Grosjean,+33 984 07 04 41, luce.grosjean@miyu.fr

“What does the hangman think about when he goes home at night from work?”

Inspired by the 1922 Carl Sandburg poem of the same title, this VR single-user immersive experience explores themes of acknowledgement and participation. It is not about hanging people, but about the awkward intimacy that comes with being human, and the connection between spectator, witness, and accomplice. The animated, interactive experience invites you into five interwoven stories, capturing pivotal moments in people’s lives. The Hangman at Home – VR ultimately reveals that we are all more alike than different, while raising questions of responsibility.

The experience begins with a call to action, as the user is asked to light a match to ignite the narrative. This non-linear, layered story is both interactive and observational. Users are given the choice to cross different thresholds, such as a door, a window, or a fireplace; each is a portal to a room where one of the five animated scenes unfolds. Eventually they have the opportunity to interact with objects that are extracted from these stories, to engage and create a soundscape. Finally, they are invited to take part in the poetic climax of this thoughtful, often playful, journey.

The Hangman at Home – VR is a co-production between Late Love Production (Denmark), Miyu Productions (France), Floréal Films (France) and the National Film Board of Canada.

“What does the hangman think about when he goes home at night from work?”

Inspired by the 1922 Carl Sandburg poem of the same title, this VR single-user immersive experience explores themes of acknowledgement and participation. It is not about hanging people, but about the awkward intimacy that comes with being human, and the connection between spectator, witness, and accomplice. The animated, interactive experience invites you into five interwoven stories, capturing pivotal moments in people’s lives. The Hangman at Home – VR ultimately reveals that we are all more alike than different, while raising questions of responsibility.

Language: English/French/Danish

Duration: 30 min experience + 10 min on-boarding and off-boarding

Technique: Interactive, 6DoF, 2D and 3D Animation

Technical:  VIVE, VIVE Pro, Oculus Rift, and Oculus Rift S

Katayoun Dibamehr, +33 768 401610, katayoun@florealfilms.com

“What does the hangman think about when he goes home at night from work?”

A VR multi-user installation based on Carl Sandburg’s 1922 poem “The Hangman at Home,” We Are at Home is an immersive experience that explores themes of acknowledgement and participation, as well as the awkward intimacy that comes with being human. This unique animated interactive work is a bridge between the digital, performing and visual arts, incorporating the latest innovative technology. At its core is the connection between spectator, witness and accomplice. Participants are invited into a series of stories and rooms, and as part of a shared experience, they will question their own accountability and the role of the individual within the collective.

“What does the hangman think about when he goes home at night from work?”

A VR multi-user installation based on Carl Sandburg’s 1922 poem “The Hangman at Home,”

We Are at Home is an immersive experience that explores themes of acknowledgement and participation, as well as the awkward intimacy that comes with being human.

This unique animated interactive work is a bridge between the digital, performing and visual arts, incorporating the latest innovative technology. At its core is the connection between spectator, witness and accomplice. Participants are invited into a series of stories and rooms. As part of a shared experience, they will question their own accountability and the role of the individual within the collective. The concept of home is the key—you are home, but it is not your home. The notion of returning home to the forced intimacy of a hybrid space that’s both public and domestic allows us to transcend the narrative and character-driven dramaturgy.

This playful and captivating multi-user installation focuses on technology-mediated social interactions. VR frees us to experiment with form, space and immersive environments, where the layered dramaturgy, physicality and interactivity suggest an internal language of storytelling. Visually, and story-wise, the participant’s journey is affected because they are a part of a group. The experience peaks with a call for action: no longer theatrical or observational, it becomes a moral question of who will take action, who will follow, and who will resist. And that changes everything.

We Are at Home is a co-production between Late Love Production, Floréal Films, Miyu Productions and the National Film Board of Canada.

The project has been supported by: the Danish Film Institute, the West Danish Film Fund, the CNC (Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée), Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Charente county council (as part of Pôle Image Magelis), and The Center for Animation, Visualisation and Digital Storytelling at The Animation Workshop/VIA University College and The Danish Arts Foundation.

Language: English/French/Danish

Duration: 30 min experience + 10 min on-boarding and off-boarding

Technique: Interactive, free rooming, multi-user, 6DoF, 2D and 3D Animation

Technical: 4 participants in VR headsets + video projection / VR Headset : Oculus 1 and 2

Katayoun Dibamehr, +33 768 401610, katayoun@florealfilms.com