In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats

Viewer Advice: This XR experience comes with the option for patrons to wear haptic vests. Haptic vests create the sensation of physical impact on the body, enabling a physically immersive experience. This is accessible to those living with hearing loss or who are d/Deaf.

Hit the town and seek out the next illegal rave in this euphoric, multisensory joyride about the 1980s Acid House movement.

In the 80s, Coventry became the epicentre of the UK rave scene, attracting countless young people on weekend pilgrimages to the Midlands area. But their energy is matched by the police’s staunch attempts to quell their raucous parties. In the latest experience from famed VR filmmaker Darren Emerson (Common Ground, MIFF 2019; Invisible, MIFF 2016), you’re thrust into the commotion, heart pumping with trepidation and excitement as you explore secret party locations – warehouses, woodlands, disused buildings, empty fields – and interact with materials and memorabilia along the way.

With an extraordinary eye for historical detail, Emerson incorporates 3D modelling, volumetric capture and animation with firsthand accounts from legendary ravers and iconic songs by Orbital, Joey Beltram and Neal Howard. But as he captures in this transportive work, these parties combined revelry with rebellion: they birthed a community for youth from all classes and backgrounds who, during the Thatcher years, felt alienated and out of place. Winner of IDFA’s DocLab Award for Immersive Non-Fiction, In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats is a visceral, ecstatic ode to a time when what mattered most was chasing that next dance-floor high.

“Akin to a time machine – or at least the closest thing we have to one so far … Surrounds you with sound, senses and the thrill of being young.” – Why Now

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