ZAGREB, October 11, 2020 - "Dislocation", a film by Veljko and Milivoj Popovic, has been awarded Best Virtual Reality project at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, one of the most important in the world, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre has said.

"Dislocation" problematizes fear stemming from the forced removal of people from their homes due to cataclysmic events, offering a visual experience of the emotions that take hold when people find themselves in extremely dire circumstances. The film follows the protagonist around various locations, from a beach on the coast of Greece, a desert on the Mexico-US border, to a forest in the Balkans.   

"This powerful and timely narrative captures the fear and desperation experienced by many refugees. Having the narrative be driven by the physical act of stepping into this person’s experience and fragmenting memories of home, made the experience feel that much more potent, especially at a time where many countries are becoming increasingly hostile and antipathetic towards refugees and immigrants," the jury said in a statement.

Veljko and Milivoj Popovic’s project was created using 2D and 3D animation and motion capture technology, in collaboration with dancer Alen Celic and choreographer Nikolina Dolfic.

"Dislocation" was produced by the Croatian Prime Render studio in co-production with the French company Bagan Films.

The Ottawa International Animation Festival was held from September 23 to October 4.

In addition to "Dislocation", the Croatian animated short "Cockpera", directed by Kata Gugic, was screened in the student film competition.

December 17, 2018 — Learn about Rijeka's ProDesign studio and how they introduced VR technology to Croatia's interior design market.

We're living in a time when advancements in the tech industry are reshaping pretty much every aspect of our lives, and with more new technologies entering the playing field, the business of interior design is also going through a major transformation.

Accepting changes in technology is important if you want to keep up the pace and move forward with your business, and so today many companies have started embracing the numerous innovations and investing in tech education.

One such company is Rijeka's ProDesign which recently started pioneering the use of VR technology for interior design in Croatia. They caught our eye at the 2018 Rovinj Design District held in November.

Founded in 2010, ProDesign has a core business in architectural 3D modeling and interior design, and today, they are striving to become one of the leading Croatian companies in the field. ProDesign offers interior design and landscaping for homeowners, but also residential and commercial design which brings even more business opportunities to the table.

Urban villa overlooking the Kvarner Bay

ProDesign's founder and managing director Alen Kukić says that this is the first Croatian company — and so far the only one, to his knowledge — that started using VR technology as an integral part of the interior design process. This not only attracts more potential clients but it also immensely helps those clients visualize all the possibilities, and makes them more determined and confident in their buying decisions.

Another great plus is that there are no unsatisfied customers. In other words — with design presentations in virtual reality — there are no more discrepancies between the desired and expected design and the remodeling outcome.

Since decorating your home or business place involves a significant investment of both time and money, mistakes can be quite expensive. With VR, they are practically 100% avoidable, and every client has the opportunity to be a part of the process and tailor the design to personal taste and preferences down to the minutest of details.

Urban villa interior

Having a team of experienced professionals, ProDesign is established as a full-service design studio whose area of expertise covers not only basic organization of space and furnishing, but also professional architectural planning and re-planning, customization of all interior installations and fixtures, furniture design, detailed 3D visualizations followed by a VR experience, and finally, remodeling project coordination on-site, if desired.

So whether you're remodeling your apartment, planning on going glamping in Dalmatian hinterland but missing the whole glam part, or buying an old stone villa that needs a facelift, make sure to check out ProDesign's official website, if only just for inspiration.

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A travel agency in Pula will soon be offering VR tours of the city's ancient monuments