Remain at Home – GO!insideVR

Episode I

In Episode I the viewer slips into the role of altruistic grandmother ‘Zahira’ who needs to convince her grandson ‘Mahmud’ and his family to abandon their home and escape the war, despite the heart-wrenching realization that they might not make it if she accompanies them…
REMAIN AT HOME is designed as a cinematic VR Series which is in development.
It tells the story of a young family’s dangerous escape from war, over sea and land, where their life depends on people with different origins and faith. And their only hope is that deep down some of them might strive for common values.
The Series shows how difficult it is to leave home and loved ones behind because of war. Refugees are migrating all around the world and this could happen to anyone at anytime in any country. We are all human and have the same basic needs. Deep down we all strive for happiness, family, peace and love. It is not about politics, it is about humanity.

Executive Summary

Genre: Drama
Language: Arabic
Shooting Location: Austria
Runtime: 3 min 52 sec
Format: 360°, Digital 4K
Year: 2017

Photo: © GO! Pictures

Cast

All the actors are actual refugees from Damascus/Syria. Through their participation and their experience of being forced to leave home, the audience gets a more authentic view of what it means to become a refugee.

Omar Khir Alanam (Mahmud):

Omar was born in 1991 in a suburb of Damaskus/Syria. He was studying business when he was forced to flee from Syria, therefore he couldn’t finish his studies. In November 2014 he came to Austria where he still lives today. To process his traumatic experiences of escaping the war in Syria he is writing about love, exile, revolution, escape, social exclusion and identity. In 2018 Omar published his first book “Danke. Wie O?sterreich meine Heimat wurde“ in 2018.

“Anywhere the heart can fall in love, there can be home.” – Omar Khir Alanam

Photo: © Richard Griletz

Aliaa Fayoumi (Amal):

Aliaa was born in 1986 in Damaskus/Syria. Since spring 2016 she lives in Austria together with her husband and her two kids. They had to flee from the war in Syria to find a calm and peaceful life somewhere else, Austria already became their new home. Aliaa is very proud to be a part of the film. For her it‘s an opportunity to demonstrate the circumstances of other refugees – it should help people who did not experience fleeing a war to better understand how hard it is to leave home and your loved ones behind.

Photo: © Aliaa Fayoumi

Crew

Production Company: GO! Pictures KG
Producer: Lisa M. Wurzinger
Writer & Director: Gero A.E. Egger
DOP: Peter Kappel
Production Design: Burkhard Stulecker
Gaffer: Patrick Stupnicki
Music: Horst Schnattler

SFX: Neuner Filmtechnik e.U., Willi Neuner
360º Post Production: Postmen – Visual Effects, Andreas Tekautz
360° Sound: Klangkulisse, Horst Schnattler
Graphic Artist: Kiris Artworks, Iris A.M. Kirchner

Photo: © GO! Pictures

director
Gero A.E. Egger

Gero began working in the film industry in 2003. He gained further production knowledge through his experiences in working for two award-winning New York based film production companies. In 2009 Gero founded GO! Pictures where he has worked with a variety of international professionals producing feature films, short films, corporate videos as well as music/art documentaries. Since 2015 his main focus turned to directing 360°/VR narrative because it opens up a widely untouched and promising artistic field as a filmmaker.

producer
Lisa Maria Wurzinger

Lisa Maria began gaining experience early in life as a performance artist. She started in a theatre before working in the Austrian TV industry as an arts reporter and presenter. In 2009 she joined GO! Pictures working on project basis. After working in various production roles in several international feature films she has begun to work as a producer for GO! Pictures. Lisa has a keen interest in Ethnology and how VR might influence social habits and traditions.

www.gopictures.at