New York University’s (NYU) Future Reality Lab has created a virtual reality (VR) experience that takes viewers on a journey to 10,000 BC.

CAVE will premiere in the US from 24 April to 5 May at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Co-created by Ken Perlin, Kris Layng, and Sebastian Herscher at NYU’s Future Reality Lab, CAVE takes audiences into the past and tells the story of Ayara, a young woman who is struggling to decide whether to accept her role as her tribe’s only emissary to the spirit world.

CAVE is told using the Parallux system, a VR technology that allows virtual experiences to be shared by many people in the same location.

NYU said viewers of CAVE see and hear the story—as well as one another—from a unique point-of-view within the same virtual environment.

“The implications for the future of cinematic experiences are profound. Rather than merely seeing a story projected onto a screen, large audiences are able to enjoy a deep level of social immersion far beyond what was previously possible.”

Ken Perlin, director of the Future Reality Lab and a professor of computer science at NYU’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences

“The implications for the future of cinematic experiences are profound,” explained Perlin, director of the Future Reality Lab and a professor of computer science at NYU’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. “Rather than merely seeing a story projected onto a screen, large audiences are able to enjoy a deep level of social immersion far beyond what was previously possible.”

Perlin added: “CAVE is a ground-breaking innovation at the intersection of art, entertainment, and technology.”

“It is the result of a passionate community of creators working to push the boundaries of computer graphics and interactive techniques—and to reimagine the possibilities of collective cinematic experience.”