Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI), New York, will present On the Morning You Wake to Nuclear Threat: Exploring Social Impact Through Virtual Reality later this month. From 20th January to 12th February 2023, the documentary will be on view in MoMI’s Amphitheater Gallery.
On the Morning You Wake is a VR documentary. It immerses viewers in the first-hand experience of people in Hawai’i who faced nuclear threat. On the morning of 13th January 2018, a message from the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency flashed on phones across the state: “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”
Cellular communication networks collapsed. Panic took hold. 1.4 million people came to understand the real, growing, and urgent nature of today’s nuclear threat. 38 minutes later, the alert was retracted. Though nothing happened, yet everything changed.
On the Morning You Wake to Nuclear Threat: Exploring Social Impact Through Virtual Reality Exhibition
The exhibition is Co-presented by Games for Change. It features screenings of the VR documentary at the center of a global nuclear disarmament campaign. The film is intended to demonstrate the unique power of immersive storytelling for social impact. It will also offer an exploration of the project’s production and worldwide impact.
“MoMI is proud to be partnering with Games for Change on the presentation of On the Morning You Wake,” said Carl Goodman, MoMI Executive Director. “What’s so striking about the work is the way in which new technologies for creative expression can be used to confront and address one of the world’s most powerful technologies of destruction. Whether through documentary film and television or through immersive media, MoMI continues to explore, create awareness of, and, hopefully, spur action related to our most urgent global threats.”
The film was created by Archer’s Mark and Atlas V. On the Morning You Wake (to the End of the World) was originally conceived in partnership with Games for Change and Princeton University’s Science and Global Security Program.
“On the Morning You Wake is a transformative work of art and a proof point for the power of immersive technologies to drive social impact,” said executive producer Susanna Pollack, president of Games for Change. “We are delighted to partner with MoMI on this first-of-its-kind U.S. museum exhibition of On the Morning You Wake, which aims to spark critical dialogue and action towards nuclear abolition, and inspire current and future creators and changemakers to continue pushing the boundaries of immersive storytelling for impact.”
VR Production Technologies
The experience brings human stories to life in a 3D world, using volumetric video capture. The film integrates documentary storytelling with innovative production techniques. On the Morning You Wake demonstrates how emerging technology amplifies the power of storytelling to drive social change.
This exhibition offers an opportunity to view the VR project. Additionally, it provides insight into the creative storytelling process, technical innovation, and worldwide impact of the film.
The exhibition will be on view in MoMI’s Amphitheater Gallery. Tickets for the VR documentary are $15 and include access to the exhibition. An additional $5 offers access to all Museum galleries.
For owners of the Meta Quest 2 headset, On the Morning You Wake is available to download for free.