Welcome to Sunset Motel. Your room is not ready. Hang around in the lobby or by the pool until your turn comes. Don’t pay attention to our guests; they are only passing by—we all are. They will be leaving shortly…
Sunset Motel is a VR immersion into the world of illustrator and scratchboard master Thomas Ott. His elaborate characters and scenery come to life through motion capture when set in movement by choreographer Gilles Jobin.
From the bus stop, where they land in VR, the participant sees the Sunset Motel on the other side of the road. Then, they can roam freely through the motel lobby, around the pool and into the rooms, following characters whose peculiar stories unfold through movement and without dialogue. The participant is literally immersed in a black-and-white cosmogony created by Thomas Ott, populated by misfits, loners and ordinary people, scratched to the bone, silently carrying their backstories.
When a dramatic event unfolds, the participant realizes that they might themselves be the next chapter of that story. Maybe the bus arrived too early at that lost motel in the middle of nowhere. Maybe those stories were not for them to see…
Directors profiles
Gilles Jobin (Director, co-author and choreographer)
Gilles Jobin is an award-winning contemporary dance choreographer fascinated with new image technologies. With his Geneva based dance company he creates digital dance pieces such as VR_I, Dance Trail, La Comédie virtuelle live show or Cosmogony. His work is regularly showcased in international festivals such as Sundance Film Festival (2018 and 2020) or the Venice Film Festival (2018, 2020, 2026). His dance company is now fully digital and focusing on motion capture, creation of real time performances and digital collaborations. (More information)
Thomas Ott (Co-author and art director)
Thomas Ott is a Swiss comic artist, illustrator and graphic novelist renowned for his masterful scratchboard technique. His largely wordless stories draw on film noir, horror and black humour, portraying loners and ordinary people caught in unsettling situations. His books include Cinema Panopticum, R.I.P., The ForestandRoute 66, created for Louis Vuitton’s Travel Book series. He also created the cover artwork for The Criterion Collection’s edition of Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley. (Instragram)
Prochaine(s) date(s)
2026
Sep
SUNSET MOTEL - The Venice Biennale
VENICE IMMERSIVE - IN COMPETITION, XR - Extended Reality section, Venice International Film Festival, Biennale di Venezia, Venice, ItalySunset Motel – Free roaming VR experience
Credits
Director : Gilles Jobin
Authors: Thomas Ott and Gilles Jobin
Art Direction: Thomas Ott
Lead 3D Artist : Tristan Siodlak
Choreographer : Gilles Jobin
Movement Coordinator: Susana Panadés Diaz
Mocap dancers: Susana Panadés Diaz (Angie), Rudi van der Merwe (Howard and Belle), Lucille Mansas (Alex), Malika Toto Garcia (Bunny and Mickey), Ivan Larson (Gasman and Jeff), Gilles Jobin (Gary and Jeff)
Lead Creative Developer: Adryan Barriliet
VR Supervisor: Tristan Siodlak
3D characters and environment: Thomas Ott, Tristan Siodlak
Developers: Adryan Barrilliet, Tristan Siodlak, Pedro Núñez Ribot, Pierre-Igor Berthet
Lightning design: Tristan Siodlak, Thomas Ott
Motion capture : Cie Gilles Jobin / Studio 44 MocapLab
Mocap Master :Adryan Barrilliet
Mocap Assistant: Michael Dervey
Lead Mocap Integration: Susana Panadés Diaz
Mocap integration assistant: Odran Jobin
Music Director: Marky Edelmann
Sound Studio: Ganzerplatz
Sound Design: Ramon Orza
Musicians: Marky Edelmann, Hansueli Tischhauser, Ramón Orza, Robi Müller
Music composition:Marky Edelmann, Ramón Orza, Robi Müller
Game engine sound integration: Adryan Barrilliet
Production : Nadasdy Films – Nicolas Burlet / Cie Gilles Jobin – Gilles Jobin
In coproduction with: RTS Radio Télévision Suisse
With development contributions from: Floréal – Katayoun Dibamehr
With the support of Cinéforom, Loterie Romande, Pôle de création numérique, Office fédéral de la culture (OFC), MEDIA Desk Suisse and Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC)
Cie Gilles Jobin is supported by a cooperative support agreement by City of Geneva, Republic and Canton of Geneva and Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council.