'It Just Means The World': Full-Body VR Experience Wins At deadCenter Film Fest

The deadCenter Film Festival virtual reality experience has nine films where participants can slip on a headset and enter a new world, but the winning piece took VR a step further.

"'Body of Mine' is a full body VR experience," said filmmaker Cameron Kostopoulos. "You put the trackers all over your body and you put the headset on, and you are inhabiting the body of someone else."

He says he wanted to create something impactful.

"There's a lot of VR experiences that look outward, but I like VR experiences that look inwards," said Kostopoulos.

He says the piece educates about experiences in the LGBTQ+ community in an immersive way.

"It plays different interviews and stories from trans people, non-binary people and all different genders," says the filmmaker. "It allows you to have a deeper sense of empathy than you could get watching a film or even having a conversation."

'Body of Mine' took home the gold, winning best VR film at deadCenter.

"For us to get recognition for the work we did for like no money and a whole lot of passion, it just means the world," says Kostopoulos.

VR technology is new, but he says he feels this is the future of storytelling.

"I feel like VR and immersive storytelling has the power to connect us way more intimately and deeply with ourselves," he says. "It puts you in an environment where it forces you to think and ask questions about things you wouldn't normally."

And it brings people together.

"It's been making an impact on people and that to me is the most important," Kostopolous says.