Parwaz VR
Donation protected
Parwaz is a co-authored, first person Virtual Reality experience that immerses the viewer into the journey and dreams of 9-year-old Ahmad, who fled from Afghanistan to Europe in 2016. Ahmad’s story received international attention when he saved himself, his brother and 14 other refugees from suffocating in the back of a refrigerated lorry in which he had been smuggled from France to England by sending an SOS text to a volunteer he’d met along his journey.
Ahmad wanted to tell his story. He is our artist, our author, protagonist and narrator. Ahmad’s dream is to become a pilot. Parwaz will allow audiences to embody Ahmad as he ‘takes flight’.
We fly with Ahmad freely through a borderless sky, re-tracing and re-imagining the key stages of his journey in a world entirely assembled from his own artwork.
Thanks to the astounding efforts of the late Jeremy Hardy this project is now underway with a good deal of the funding required to make it happen already raised.
We now need your help to reach our target and create an experience worthy of Ahmad's story.
Who are we?
The project is led by Katie Barlow a freelance Director who has been involved with Ahmad and Jawad since they arrived in the UK. She has been assisting the boys with their battle to remain in the UK, adjusting to life here and working to help them tell their story for the past three years.
The project is being produced by the production company Crossover Labs who have specialised in the creation and curation of non-traditional media for the past 10 years. Tom Millen and Mark Atkin from Crossover Labs have been involved in the development of Parwaz with the boys for the last year and a half.
How the funds will be used
The funding will cover the costs of bringing Ahmad and Jawad's story to life in virtual reality. To make this happen we need to pay developers to build the experience in a game engine, as well as cover things like music licensing and to pay the boys themselves for their contribution to the project.
The funding raised will go into a production account managed by Crossover Labs from where it will be used to pay for the costs of the project.
Ahmad wanted to tell his story. He is our artist, our author, protagonist and narrator. Ahmad’s dream is to become a pilot. Parwaz will allow audiences to embody Ahmad as he ‘takes flight’.
We fly with Ahmad freely through a borderless sky, re-tracing and re-imagining the key stages of his journey in a world entirely assembled from his own artwork.
Thanks to the astounding efforts of the late Jeremy Hardy this project is now underway with a good deal of the funding required to make it happen already raised.
We now need your help to reach our target and create an experience worthy of Ahmad's story.
Who are we?
The project is led by Katie Barlow a freelance Director who has been involved with Ahmad and Jawad since they arrived in the UK. She has been assisting the boys with their battle to remain in the UK, adjusting to life here and working to help them tell their story for the past three years.
The project is being produced by the production company Crossover Labs who have specialised in the creation and curation of non-traditional media for the past 10 years. Tom Millen and Mark Atkin from Crossover Labs have been involved in the development of Parwaz with the boys for the last year and a half.
How the funds will be used
The funding will cover the costs of bringing Ahmad and Jawad's story to life in virtual reality. To make this happen we need to pay developers to build the experience in a game engine, as well as cover things like music licensing and to pay the boys themselves for their contribution to the project.
The funding raised will go into a production account managed by Crossover Labs from where it will be used to pay for the costs of the project.
Organizer
Tom Millen
Organizer