Experiencing Interruptions?

Night Becomes Day - 3D & 2D advocacy documentary

In 2020, Sohail is just one of 79 million displaced people in the world. He is a teenager in a Greek refugee camp.

Inspired by Theo, a local human rights worker, Sohail joins other refugees, artist Nakam and war-injured Ali, to migrate from the camp and create a new form of citizenship not previously imagined.
Through cinematic VR or film, we intimately share their journey from night to day.

Available as 8 min 3D x180 for VR and 2D for all other screens.

  • Daniel Bury
    Director
    Yawarani-Indigenous Google VR (5m doc), Myanmar VR (12m doc), Nepal: When Mountains Move VR (9m Doc), The Philippines VR (7 Doc)
  • Judith Hewitson
    Writer
    Maiden Over (30m Doc), Millenium Shift (60m Doc), The Art of Place (30m Doc), Taking the Chance (15m Doc), Hearts in Paradise (15m Doc), Alan's Boat from China (Online doc)This is What I Call Living (45m Doc)
  • Judith Hewitson
    Producer
    Reality Learning Docu-dramas (www.realitylearning.org)
  • Theo Bogeas
    Associate Producer
  • Project Type:
    Virtual Reality
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    60,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Student Project:
    No
  • FanforceTV Premiere with International Panel Discussion
    Sydney
    Australia
    June 18, 2020
    Premier 2D Web Streaming
  • Melbourne Documentary Film Festival
    Melbourne
    Australia
    December 11, 2020
    Virtual Reality Finalist
  • LearnX Platinum Award
    Sydney
    Australia
    September 17, 2020
    Best Video Design eLearning
  • Thessanolinki Documentary Film Festival 2020 - Cancelled due to COVID-19
    Thessanolinki
    Greece
    March 15, 2020
    Virtual Reality
Distribution Information
  • Reality Learning
    Sales Agent
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
  • Australia Teachers of Media. A school teacher's resource package based on the film.
    Distributor
    Country: Australia
    Rights: Pay Per View
    Country: Greece
    Rights: Pay Per View
  • World Federation of Occupational Therapists - A global course for OTs, "Working with Displaced Persons"
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
  • FanforceTV - 2D version+ Q&A with international panel
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: Pay Per View
Director Biography - Daniel Bury

Daniel Bury is a writer and director specializing in cutting-edge technology. His VR work has been reviewed in Cannes Film Festival by Screen Anarchy as "impressive... both remarkable cinematography, and a subtly moving story."

In addition to traditional film, Daniel pioneers storytelling in innovative new mediums such as virtual reality, augmented reality and interactive content.

Daniel also specializes in working with indigenous communities, as well as film projects for social good.

He began his exploration with VR and XR in 2015 at Rapid Films in Sydney, Australia while working on branded VR experiences for Samsung, Occulus and Lexus. He is the creator and director of six VR documentaries for CHASING THE WORLD, an educational, first-of-its-kind virtual reality documentary series in Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Peru, Brazil and Morocco. He is a first place winner of the Google XR Jam for his team's volumetric VR experience Appease the Gods.

As a public speaker, he has given presentations and panels around the world, including immersive storytelling panels at Cannes Film Festival. His traditional films have won awards at many film festivals, such as Phoenix Film Festival, Fantastic Planet Film Festival and ITVFest. He graduated from Chapman University in Southern California for directing and digital arts and was a recipient of the Talent Scholarship.

Daniel's journey around the world had a profound impact on his worldview, and his work is imbued with spiritual and metaphysical themes. Daniel's work both captivates and educates. He believes in responsible use of immersive technology with the intention to bring people together and enrich viewers with a greater appreciation and deeper understanding of the real world.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

We were introduced to the refugee stories through Theo Bogeas, a Greek occupational therapist working with refugees.
It was through his relationship with refugees that enabled them to trust, to share their unfolding lives with us over eighteen months. During that time, relationships changed, as did everyone’s thinking, and their daily living.

What captured us was the positivity, the capacity to think ‘outside-of-the-square’, and resilience to move forward under any new challenge. These are self-made stories created by all their life experiences.

Sohail shared the journey of gaining asylum and preparing for an independent adult life. Nakam shared his spirit of gratitude whilst living in limbo, homeless and finding his home through his art. And Ali, like all refugees with disabilities, moved through vulnerability. They took us with them on their new forward-journey and celebrated new meaningful lives in ways that Theo is continuously building pathways to.

As film makers, often working with marginalised communities, this film came alive through generous participation and us listening. Transforming these stories into a Virtual Reality experience whilst maintaining their narrative was the challenge that Daniel and Judith collaborated on.

Creative choices beckon the viewer to connect deeply with the refugees through use of eye gazing and cutting-edge VR180 cameras; VR180 allows the viewer to stand closer to human subjects than is possible with 360, and with a more authentic and intimate eye contact than volumetric scans allow in a game engine. The impact is to create an intimacy that breaks through the barriers of ‘them and us’ and negative branding surrounding displaced persons. The style also delivers the story in 2D so everyone can view the film.

It is a starting point for change.