Film & Visual Media Studies' Ralph Vituccio Wins First Place at Rome's VRE Fest with "Haenyeo"
By Bruce Gerson
The accolades keep rolling in for Ralph Vituccio, filmmaker and associate teaching professor for the Entertainment Technology Center and the English Department's Film & Visual Media Studies program.
Haenyeo, a virtual reality film produced by Vituccio and directed by alumnus Jaehee Cho, won first place in the Best Virtual Reality Experience category at VRE Fest in Rome. The film is about an ancient South Korean culture in which women dive for shellfish without the aid of oxygen tanks.
The VR piece was funded by the Google-Tribeca Film Festival’s “5 Elements of Nature” Immersive Film Program. Vituccio’s documentary on the Haenyeo was selected for the Doctors Without Borders Film Festival and the Rome Independent Film Festival.