Uncanny Valley is a 2015 Argentine short film directed by Federico Heller. The video was released on Vimeo on November 30, 2015.

Uncanny Valley
Promotional poster
Directed byFederico Heller
Written byFederico Heller
Produced byFederico Heller
StarringMarcela Sandra Ballestero
Steve Kisicki
Iván Steinhardt
Agustin Olcese
Raymond Lee
Nicole Apstein
CinematographyNicolas Trovato
Fernando Lorenzale
Edited byFederico Heller
Music byCyrille Marchesseau
Release date
  • November 30, 2015 (2015-11-30)
Running time
9 minutes
CountryArgentina
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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In a dystopian future, various people addicted to virtual reality play a first-person shooter video game. Near the end of the film, the virtual reality set of one of the players malfunctions, and it is revealed that the players are remotely controlling battle robots in an actual battlefield, providing skill and tactics. The "targets" that they are shooting are actual people, including civilians. The player who discovered this then disconnects. Shortly thereafter, he is approached by a robot, presumably controlled by another player, and becomes a target.

Reception

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Ross A. Lincoln of Deadline Hollywood compared the film to the novels Ready Player One and All You Need Is Kill.[1] Meanwhile, Adi Robertson of The Verge praised the film for its combination of documentary-style footage and in-game video game footage.[2]

After its release, the video was featured as a "Staff Pick" for the Vimeo site.[3] In October 2016, the film won Best Short at Animago.[4] The film was also featured at the Shnit international shortfilmfestival.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Lincoln, Ross A. (1 December 2015). "Carter Blanchard Circles Script For Film Based On Sci-Fi Short 'Uncanny Valley'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  2. ^ Robertson, Adi (2 December 2015). "Uncanny Valley is a super stylish short film about how VR will destroy us". The Verge. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  3. ^ Bouwmeester, Jason (5 January 2016). "Uncanny Valley Short Blurs Line Between Reality and Virtual Reality". Techaeris. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  4. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (29 October 2016). "'Uncanny Valley' Wins Best Short at Animago". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  5. ^ Suárez, Pablo (6 October 2016). "World's largest shorts festival lands in BA". Buenos Aires Herald. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
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