The Imaginary Friend

Client Studio Biarritz | Animation Studio APVIS

Written and directed by Steye Hallema. Production Studio Biarritz

Become Daniel’s imaginary friend and let him share his world with you. Discover his joys and anxieties, even help him fight his demons head-on. However, as you spend time together, Daniel’s surroundings don’t quite understand. Why is he talking to himself? Is he crazy? When his father intends to fix him, Daniel needs to figure out his feelings before disconnecting from reality completely…

Studio APVIS rigged and animated all the imaginary characters that Daniel creates. The boy’s imagination is populated with animated 3D elements that have the charm of children’s drawings created by Koen Koopman, Studio APVIS helped breathe life into these characters with fully voice acted scenes, bouncy walk cycles and vivid attack animations.

With its unique point of view in storytelling and the latest technical developments in VR, The Imaginary Friend presents an intimate experience unmatched in the VR landscape. Daniel sees, talks and interacts with you, allowing you to form a deeply personal bond with the boy. Through interactive gameplay, you don’t only push the story forward but also actively participate in Daniel’s life.

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Credits

The Imaginary Friend is a production of Studio Biarritz in coproduction with Submarine Channel (NL) and Cassette for timescapes (Belgium), in collaboration with 4DR Studios, Wildvreemd, Demute, APVIS and Dat!school.

Supported By

Netherlands Film Fund, Creative Industries Fund Nl, Brabant C, The Flanders Audiovisual Fund (Vaf), National Film And Moving Image Centre (Cnc)

World Premiere @ la Biennale di Venezia, Venice Immersive 2023

Nominated for a “Gouden Kalf Digitale Cultuur”, Netherlands Film Festival 2023