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'The Story of Christ' virtual reality film previews in September

Jardine Malado August 24, 2016 04:28 AM EST

View of Matera, Southern Italy, where the Story of Christ was filmed | REUTERS/Tony Gentile

This Christmas, Autumn Productions and VRWERX will release a full-length virtual reality (VR) film about the birth and resurrection of Christ. A 40-minute preview of the film will be featured at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival in September.

The 90-minute film will include Jesus' baptism, the sermon on the Mount, the Last Supper and the crucifixion, according to Deadline. The film was directed and produced by David Hansen and shot in Matera, Italy in 4K 360Â°.

"The viewers truly feel they are there with Jesus and his disciples," Hansen said to Variety. "This is the most powerful story of all time and virtual reality is the perfect way to tell it," he added.

Enzo Sisti, whose credits include "The Passion of Christ," joined the crew as the film's executive producer. "I am beyond thrilled to be a part of this groundbreaking project. It's as exciting a take on the story of Christ as I've ever seen and its production values will absolutely set a new benchmark for virtual reality," said Sisti in an interview with Variety.

The film stars Tim Fellingham as Jesus, Mish Boyko as Peter, Christian Serritiello as Andrew, Rhys Howells as Judas and Matteo Carlomagno as John. The script was written by AndrÃ© van Heerden, whose past works include "The Mark of the Beast" and "Left Behind III: World at War."

Alberto Barbera, the director of the Venice International Film Festival, expressed his delight in featuring the preview of the Jesus VR at the festival. "We are particularly happy to present the world's first virtual reality feature film," Barbera told The Hollywood Reporter. "Jesus helps show the narrative and spectacular potential of this new technology, which until now has been limited to brief films," he added.

The preview will be available for accredited badge holders of the film festival from Sept. 1 to Sept. 4 at Venice's new VR theater, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The full feature-film will be released this Christmas on major virtual reality platforms, including Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR and HTC Vive.

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