We normally consume films frontally. Although there are repeated attempts to show films in virtual 360° space, this usually robs filmmakers of a powerful dramaturgical tool—the ability to select the image section themselves. Rapid spatial changes and cuts can be overwhelming in VR glasses. How can these typical limitations be overcome and how can the content of moving images be specifically expanded through spatial projection?

To address these questions, Gordon Räck developed the CINECUBE for the students of the HTW Berlin’s Communication Design Program. It is a cube that allows viewers to enter and to see film projections not only in front of and over them, but also to their left and right. This cube has also given rise to several questions. For instance, how do we dissolve classic short films in this kind of space? How do we create added value for the viewer and break away from conventional frontal presentations? On which surfaces do we present a dialogue and thus create distance or closeness between the protagonists?

16 students from the HTW Berlin have tackled these questions by developing 5 short films for the CINECUBE and will offer viewers a new viewing experience during Gallery Weekend. The content of these short films ranges from an excerpt from the play “Biedermann,” a specially developed dance performance, a gangster drama, a slasher movie to a sensitively staged love story.

Since the viewers in the CINECUBE cannot see all the surfaces at the same time, they have different experiences inside the cube and can either experience the films anew each time they enter or are guided through the projection surfaces in the CINECUBE by a clever cut.

Participants: Anna Raiskaia, Benedikt Lindner, Christian Kaczynski, Cornelius Haugwitz, Esther Reichard, Evrigiorgio Panzera, Florence Jacobi, Johanna Quirin, Larissa Krüger, Leopold Felix Skupin, Lisa Thömel, Ludwig Leonhardt, Marie Egloffstein, Richard Adamek, Tijana Mirjacic, Tim Vetter

This exhibition takes place in cooperation with the Stiftung Reinbeckhallen.