Today, the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign, which raises awareness and funding to fight malaria, unveiled its very first virtual reality film, “Under the Net.” Here are five things you need to know about this powerful documentary:
- “Under the Net” premiered this week at the Cinequest Film and VR Festival in San Jose, California. It has been named Best VR Documentary, and will be honored on Sunday during the closing awards ceremony.
- The film features an 11-year-old girl named Amisa, a refugee living in the Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in Tanzania with her mother and six siblings. Struggling to survive each day, with no protection from mosquitoes that carry malaria at night, the viewer will experience Amisa’s life through her eyes.
- Amisa’s story is not unique. Every two minutes, a child dies from malaria. Malaria is in fact a major threat to refugees – it is leading cause of illness and death in many African countries, including those where Nothing But Nets and its United Nations partners work.
- The film was created by Secret Location and Nothing But Netsat the Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in northwestern Tanzania, in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), where Nothing But Netsdistributes life-saving bed nets and supports malaria prevention and treatment programs.
- “Under the Net” is available for download on the Discovery VR app and viewing on Samsung Gear VR headsets and Google Cardboard. But if you don’t have a headset, never fear! You can also check it out in 360 at UnderTheNet.net.
“Under The Net” was made possible by generous support from Samsung, Sumitomo Chemical, the Ariadne Getty Foundation, Parachute Home, Discovery VR, and Google VR.
The Nothing But Nets campaign includes hundreds of thousands of supporters, from students to superstars to CEOs, who all help to protect families from the threat of malaria.