The Descent

The Descent is an animated Virtual Reality journey into the mythical Underworld that explores the themes of grief and loss. It offers a reflection on how grief touches our lives, and is one of the most powerful, painful, universal experiences of being human. This 360 film immerses the viewer on a mystical journey through magical ancient realms and weaves a rich sonic tapestry of reflective interviews on grief together with striking visuals.

The Descent is a deeply personal immersive experience of love and loss, inspired by my own experience of childhood grief, and experiencing first hand the devastating consequences and impact it can have on one’s life. The death of a loved one is traumatic, and complex. What follows is a quest of mythic resonance, of facing demons, processing overwhelming emotions in a society that doesn’t necessarily allow the needed space to grieve. This is an unflinching look at dealing honestly with a dark and complicated theme.

The Descent won the Innovate UK Immersive Tech Award in the Creative XR Storytelling Category in partnership with Arup, Edify, Meta, Pico. It also won the My Hero Immersive Storytelling Award 2023, and was longlisted for the Lumen Prize 2023 in the immersive environment category and was part of the official selection of Thessaloniki Film Festival, Cinequest Film and VR Festival, FIVARS, Qld XR festival.