Invisible World — an interactive short film

The Rosies, 2016 Alberta Film and Television Awards

Best Digital or Interactive Project
Best Director (Drama under 30 minutes)
Best Original Musical Score

The Webby Awards

Best Visual Design - Function 2018

ABOUT

Invisible World is a 22-minute interactive project set in Cambodia during the turbulent 1990s, reimagining real events to explore dissolving borders between East and West, past and present, and life and death. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, it invites viewers to explore layered realities, blurring the line between documentary and fiction as it delves into memory, trauma, and cultural displacement.

Download Invisible World on the App Store

STORY

Based on true events, Invisible World follows three individuals whose lives collide after a young boy's near-tragic drowning in Cambodia. Told through shifting perspectives, the story unveils how memory and experience shape our understanding of the past.

Split-screen still: the three main characters of Invisible World Split-screen still: a written note and a young man on a dusty road Split-screen still: a woman in the rain beside an alley Split-screen still: river spray and a sleeping child

MOBILE EXPERIENCE

Originally developed as an interactive film for iOS, Invisible World uses a split-screen format that places control of the narrative in viewers' hands. Audiences select perspectives and follow the story's paths, engaging deeply with each character’s reality.

Hands holding an iPhone playing Invisible World’s split-screen film

VR EXPERIENCE

Adapted for HTC Vive, Invisible World: The VR Experience transforms the story into an immersive virtual journey. Audiences navigate three perspectives across layered visual planes, pushing VR's boundaries by blending cinematic depth with interactive storytelling.

The VR experience premiered at the Festival du nouveau cinéma and The National Museum of Modern Art of Korea

Invisible World VR: three story panels floating in a gallery room

Download Invisible World on the App Store

CREDITS

Co-directed: Galen Scorer and Tyler Enfield
Producers: Bonnie Thompson, David Christensen, Ana Serrano (VR)
Editor: Galen Scorer
Interactive Director: Galen Scorer
Story Director: Tyler Enfield
Director of Photography: Tyler Enfield, Galen Scorer
Production manager: Sopheak Sao
Narration writer: Tyler Enfield, Madeleine Thien

Actors:
Mark Tilly, Sereyvuth Kem, Chak Rya Ngem, Sothany Im, Jan Mueller, Justin Landis, Sina Brod, Seang Hay Sean, Voun Chea, Naron Nob, Lakhna Krip, Young Ven Ving, Phan Peng, Sry Neang Rin, Vanny Vath, Chenda Van, Han Sok, Hav Sok, Gna Sok, Bav Sok, Savy Vorn, Seang Horn Say

English narration actors:
Dylan Howard, Madeleine Thien, François Chau

Khmer narration actors:
Sereyvuth Kem, Chak Rya Ngem, Kai Jest Miller

Lead developer: Alex Garneau
Development manager: Lanny McNie
Chief architect: Grant Skinner
Original music: Everett LaRoi
Sound editor: John Blerot