UAE: Cinema lovers can now decide how a movie’s plot unfolds

Dubai - Unique cinematic experience will be launched across UAE and Saudi Arabia on August 5 .

Now, moviegoers in the UAE can collectively decide how the plot of a movie they are watching unfolds, Vox Cinemas announced.

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The dedicated cinema arm of Majid Al Futtaim unveiled CTRL, the region’s first interactive movie experience which lets the audience collectively decide the fate of the lead character and the course of the movie they are watching, using a simple voting system on a mobile application.

The latest innovation from Vox Cinemas in partnership with entertainment and tech companies, Kino Industries will launch across the UAE and the Saudi Arabia on August 5, a press release said. CTRL will be showing Late Shift (UAE PG 13), the world’s first interactive feature-length film. During the screening of the high stakes action thriller, which has countless storylines consisting of 180 decision points and seven alternative endings.

The audience will typically make 40-50 choices while the in-app technology aggregates the votes and chooses the most popular option. Late Shift was directed and co-written by Tobias Weber, an award-winning filmmaker and a co-founder of Kino Industries and Michael Robert Johnson, author of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. The critically acclaimed movie was awarded the 2018 BAFTA Cymru Award.

Streaming giant Netflix experimented with a similar viewing experience when it premiered the 2018 interactive science fiction anthology Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.

Toni El Massih, chief content officer, Vox Cinemas said, “We are incredibly excited to partner with Kino Industries and launch the Middle East’s first interactive movie, which puts the audience in control of countless adaptable storylines.”

He added, “Using pioneering technology, CTRL seamlessly combines the realism and production values of the film with the interactivity of a videogame to create a new dimension of engagement. Having sold out at the Beijing International Film Festival in less than five minutes, I have no doubt that this unique and exhilarating participatory experience will prove hugely popular with cinemagoers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.”

Chady Eli Mattar, chief executive officer and co-founder of Kino Industries stated, “For us Vox Cinemas represent the epitome of a contemporary exhibitor – they are bold, innovative, forward thinkers and we at Kino share a similar DNA! Thus, this partnership will be setting the standards of the future of cinema in the region.”

The daily screenings of Late Shift will take place at 6 pm and 8 pm (Sunday – Thursday) and 5 pm, 7 pm and 9 pm (Friday and Saturday) at Vox Cinemas at Mall of the Emirates, Yas Mall, City Centre Mirdif, City Centre Al Zahia, The Galleria Al Maryah Island and Wafi City. The experience will also be rolled out across select Vox Cinemas in Saudi Arabia.

Tickets for Late Shift is now on sale and can be purchased on the Vox Cinemas website (voxcinemas.com), app or at the ticket counter at any Vox Cinemas. The movie will be shown in English with Arabic subtitles.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai