With the support of SFU’s School of Interactive Arts and Technology, UBC Graduate School of Journalism students in the International Reporting Program debuted Hidden in Plain Sight: Stories of Migration and HIV in Chile, to an audience of over 250 people in Vancouver on May 24, 2016.
The public screening event was designed to spark conversation and engage viewers with the complex issues of HIV and migration as they are unfolding in Chile. Following the screening of the two traditional documentary films, the audience was invited to take part in two immersive virtual reality experiences that offered a closer connection to each story.
By combining these two visual mediums – traditional film and virtual reality – in one public viewing experience, the exhibition asked the audience to engage collectively with two challenging subjects and consider the implications of the Chilean state’s inability to provide adequate care for these vulnerable populations. Ultimately, the exhibition asks how this documentary format can bring these two stories into plain sight.