Eliza McNitt had a grand vision for “Fistful of Stars,” one of the most ambitious SXSW movies ever — and she teamed up with Intel to make it happen.
Eliza McNitt is what you would commonly call a “thought innovator.” When she decided to put together Fistful of Stars — one of the most ambitious SXSW movies in history — she didn’t want to just shoot a movie. She wanted to change how people thought about movies.
“I wanted something extraordinary,” she said in our interview. “I wanted the people who were watching to come away feeling as though they were part of something bigger than themselves.”
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And she more than succeeds with Fistful of Stars, touted as “a 360-degree virtual reality experience that follows the Hubble Telescope through a journey into the Orion Nebula.” Thanks to the advancements in virtual reality, viewers can travel thousands of light years into space without ever leaving the Milky Way.
And that, according to Lisa Watts of Intel, is something that inspired them to want to work with McNitt to make her vision a reality. In a blog post for Intel’s official site, Watts emphasized that Fistful of Stars is just the first of many movies that are embracing a paradigm shift in movie making.
"“The world is becoming truly multidimensional, and we are no longer earth-bound,” Watts said, adding that Intel is looking for ways to provide the tools to help creators like McNitt and others. “These technologies allow us to explore and add to the world in ways we couldn’t before.”"
McNitt, who acknowledged that she was “extremely lucky” to have her film included in the impressive cadre of SXSW movies, agrees with this new paradigm shift. “Gone are the days when people would just go to a movie, sit there, and watch,” she said. “Now, they have the opportunity to have an immersive experience. Now, they can not only see the same things that we filmmakers see, but they can be a part of them, as well.”
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McNitt hopes that this isn’t the last time she’s a part of SXSW movies. “I hope this can lead to something more, and something bigger,” she said, “and I can’t wait for everyone to see what’s coming up next!