Experiencing Interruptions?

21-22 USA

21-22 USA is an immersive cinematic odyssey through the landscapes of the Anthropocene, revealing the profound changes of human prevalence on the planet’s foremost superpower. From sprawling cities and endless highways to expansive oil production and potash mining sites, to climate-ravaged regions, and ancient indigenous landscapes, the film offers a sweeping view of a world in transformation—experienced from above.

Filmed over many months across the United States, 21-22 USA employs a non-verbal, experiential narrative, weaving together stunning real-world imagery and an evocative soundtrack. This experiential journey lifts us beyond the familiar, revealing Earth from an awe-inspiring aerial perspective in 360° VR—an invitation to witness, reflect, and rethink our human world in an era of irreversible and accelerated changes.

  • Thierry Loa
    Director
  • Thierry Loa
    Writer
  • Thierry Loa
    Producer
  • Philippe Le Bon
    Music
  • Ray Shine
    Editor
  • CANADA ARTS COUNCIL / CONSEIL DES ARTS DU CANADA
    Funders
  • CONSEIL DES ARTS ET DES LETTRES DU QUÉBEC
    Funders
  • CONSEIL DES ARTS DE MONTRÉAL
    Funders
  • Project Type:
    Virtual Reality, 360 Video
  • Genres:
    Environmental, contemplative, Immersive, VR, Experiential, Nonverbal, 360video
  • Runtime:
    37 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    October 31, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Geneva International Film Festival 2023
    Geneva
    Switzerland
    November 3, 2023
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • FIPADOC 2024
    Biarritz
    France
    January 20, 2024
    French Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Clermont Ferrand International Film Festival
    Clermont Ferrand
    France
    February 2, 2024
    Official Selection
  • MEET Digital Culture Center
    Milan
    Italy
    April 3, 2024
    Italian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Church of VR
    Rotterdam
    Netherlands
    December 4, 2024
    Dutch Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Ars Electronica (Applied Virtualities selection)
    Linz
    Austria
    September 4, 2024
    Austrian Premiere
    Official Selection in Applied Virtualities program
  • Summer Film School
    Uherske Hradiste
    Czech Republic
    July 26, 2024
    Official Selection
  • FIFAD
    Les Diablerets
    Switzerland
    August 3, 2024
    Official Selection
  • Visioni Dal Mondo
    Milan
    Italy
    September 12, 2024
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Thierry Loa

Thierry Loa is a multimedia artist, producer, and filmmaker who practices at the intersection of cinema, interactive, virtual reality, and digital arts. His work explores the ways in which humans coexist with new technologies and the anthropocentric world they shape and inhabit.
Over the course of several years, he has studied multimedia art, film, photography, philosophy, and anthropology.

His innovative approach has earned him numerous awards and recognitions at festivals, including four Webby Awards (NYC), the Advertising & Design Club of Canada Gold Award, the FITC Best Flash Narrative Award (Toronto), six FWA Awards, the RIDM Youth Jury Award, a finalist at the SXSW Film/TV, the FIPADOC Digital Storytelling Award, the People's Choice Award at Visioni Dal Mondo, the Panorama VR Award at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, the Grand Jury Prize at the ART VR Festival (Prague), Best VR Film at the CineGlobe Festival (CERN), and a finalist at the PRIX NUMIX, among others.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

21-22 USA is part of the ongoing 21-22 project which is bringing to the public a unique collection of immersive VR films, revealing the Human Expansion on Earth through the documentation of multiple real-world landscape transformations and large-scale human activities on the planet. Each 21-22 instalment focuses on particular territories. All the imagery in 21-22's immersive films are of the real world, non-fictional, non-computer-generated. To learn more about 21-22, please visit WWW.21-22.EARTH