A year ago, the cultural scene in Zagreb became richer with a completely new venue – VR cinema KEK. The space, with large glass walls on Petrinjska Street and big armchairs, somewhat resembles the lobby of a hotel, but it is actually a place where visitors, immersed in virtual reality with headsets and headphones on, enjoy a new dimension of entertainment – watching VR films.
The first impression upon entering the cinema is the scent of plants that decorate the interior. The founder of this venture, renowned Croatian travel writer Davor Rostuhar, has managed to bring a touch of nature into the room, serving as a perfect prelude to the cinematic landscapes that follow. It may have looked strange from the street at first, but when I put the headset on my head, adjusted the headphones, and immersed myself in another world, so convincingly that it felt as if the people from the film were right next to me and that I could touch them, I no longer cared how I looked and acted to someone observing from the outside (and there are indeed many curious onlookers in downtown Zagreb). The film, the plot, and the story are what matter, and Rostuhar certainly knows how to tell a story. This time, he chose VR film as the medium, specifically a three-dimensional video recording in 360 degrees.
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Experience of Teleportation
– Traditional video recordings that we are used to always select only one segment of reality. The frame that someone chooses when filming is the same one that the viewer observes. VR technology transcends that frame, abolishes it, and captures the entire reality around the camera, in all directions. Thus, the viewer of the film does not see just one segment of reality, but the entire reality of what is being filmed. In other words, the film does not happen within some frame – a television, cinema screen, mobile phone – but all around the viewer, which is why the viewer feels as if they are in the film itself, explains Rostuhar, whose first VR film ‘Gatherer Hunters’ that I watched follows the story of the Hadza tribe from Tanzania, one of the few remaining hunter-gatherer tribes in the world.
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It is also the first Croatian VR film, and Rostuhar describes the entire viewing experience more as teleportation. However, unlike the vivid film about the Hadza tribe, the cinema itself is characterized by peace and silence so as not to disturb other viewers. Similarly, unlike traditional cinemas, in the VR cinema, any film can be watched at any time. In the cinema room, Rostuhar has also created a showroom for his own books, which can be purchased on-site. Additionally, it is possible to join his Expedition and Culture Club (KEK), which allows for a 20 percent discount on cinema tickets for just two euros a year.
From Idea to Realization in Three Months
When asked what motivated him to open a VR cinema in the center of Zagreb, the first of its kind in the world, Rostuhar says he wanted to showcase what impresses him. However, too much sluggish bureaucracy, fundraising, and finding space and people were some of the challenges he faced in that process. Nevertheless, in just three months, the entire cinema was built and ready for its first visitors.
– At that time, I was finishing writing a book, post-producing the VR film, and I also became a father for the first time in my life. So today, when I look back, I have no idea how we managed to do it, recalls Rostuhar, admitting that his biggest challenge in business was how to attract an audience and convince them that it would be worth spending ten euros on a ticket.
