There are a variety of avatars in front of me, including a human with a bright smile, a furry creature wearing a coat and scarf, and an animal that looks like a dog. How has your relationship changed since the donation? I am speaking with the fantastical furry who has wings and the suit-clad otter. Hiyu, Photographotter and other names are used for them. Otter saved Hiyu’s life by flying from America all the way to Sweden. Their brief silence before answering is a reflection of all they have been through. “We’ve definitely gotten a lot closer,” says Otter. They start laughing. Hiyu laughs along with the group: ‘Yeah. It’s at least one percent of his body. “The Reality of Hope” is a short film that tells the story of Hiyu, Photographotter and their journey. This documentary investigates both the dynamic between the two and the difficulties of travelling half-way around the world for the surgery. The VR community, and their friendships are there to support them through each challenge. Joe Hunting, MaxFilms and Joe Hunting will join them on their adventure. Hunting captured the
journey with We Met in Virtual Reality
, which was released 2022. Sundance selected another of his efforts that he made after filming the connections between people online and offline. Hiyu Photographotter crosses the boundary of reality in their documentary, revealing themselves as they are. Hunting says this was pivotal for the project, but he never crossed that line with We Met In Virtual Reality on HBO Max. We followed Photographotter’s physical journey as he flew between New York and Stockholm. We felt that the transition between VR and real life, as well as the dramatic entrance into the world, was crucial to the creation of themes and the story.
Left to right: Joe Hunting (left), Photographotter, Hiyu and MaxFilms. It’s a tale about the lifesaving power of a friendship that was formed online. What led to the creation of a documentary that reveals such an event? Hiyu became a part of the VR furry Furality community in 2018. This is an innovative festival that happens within VRChat. In 2018, he had kidney problems, after what he considered a routine check-up. As the problem grew, it was eventually diagnosed that his kidneys were failing and needed to be replaced in 2022. Now. Hiyu told his friends about the situation and was worried that he would never be able to find a suitable donor. Photographotter was the first to respond when word spread about Hiyu’s dilemma. He didn’t even know Hiyu. But he knew he had to donate. Otter stated, “I had no choice but to act.” This wasn’t an easy thing to do. The Swedish government required that they raise money for the operation, pay travel expenses, and wait the three-month period before the procedure could be performed. Hiyu, Otter and their friends offered encouragement and motivation to keep Hiyu fit and healthy. Hiyu’s kidney disease was a source of pain and uncertainty. Otter started a YouTube Channel to document the journey. MaxFilms was contacted by Otter in
. Max explained: “Otter had gone to Hiyu’s home and he tried to record his video journal.” He needed help because his computer was not up to the task. MaxFilms, Hiyu and Hunting discuss the documentary. Max Films arranged to have Hiyu, Otter and MaxFilms film an interview test for the documentary. The interview went so smoothly, Max contacted Joe Hunting to tell him about it. It just so happened that Hunting was also looking for a project. MaxFilms provided the second camera and assisted Hunting in coproduction. Max came to me at the perfect moment and proposed the idea of working together on the documentary. As I was stuck in England, I looked for ideas. Max’s sharing of this amazing moment, at the moment when the story really was about to develop felt like a serendipitous coincidence. Rob Ouellette, from Painted Clouds, then created the 3D model using Blender and Maya. This was imported into VRChat for a virtual reshoot. VRChat’s camera would be set to match their dialysis shot in terms of focus and pace. Hunting and his team escorted me to the film set for the dialysis interview after the first film interview. Hiyu approached the dialysis machine and I was watching him carefully. Hunting and his team at Painted Clouds had scanned the large machine Hiyu was using at the hospital. Hiyu was re-examining the recreation of a dialysis device.
Is that a slight fear on his face, or was it something else? As he was using facial tracking, I was able to see his expressions. The first thing he did was to approach the machine like a maker: “The hard surface modeling Rob
has done on this machine is of the highest quality.” “I’m a 3D designer and I can only hope to accomplish this given the time available.”
His reflections then became more personal. It is a bit strange to be in this room because of how accurate the set looks. It’s like being in a real hospital. Quickly, the worn-out tile, off white walls, and clean feel of medical spaces bleeds through. Hiyu continues.
It’s so strange to sit in this room and look out the window at exactly the same angle. It was strange, but I didn’t think that I had gone back to . It was scary, both the actual surgery as well as everything that led up to it. So much waiting, so little knowledge. Our friendship was not just something we did together. We had a lot of experiences. The two use humor to keep things light when the situation is dire. Otter gives Hiyu a free drink at one stage while his friend is enduring the dialysis. “I brought you some coffee — and a kidney,” he grinned. Then MaxFilms and Hunting leave to change their menus and do business. Otter and Hiyu continued to stand at the side. Their energy was increasing. It was as if they suddenly felt the urge to photograph it again, but this time with a little more humor. They exclaimed, “Put that in the article!” The Reality Of Hope and my VR interview with the subjects, director, and main characters, suggest that they are expressing victory through their laughter, which is a joyous expression of hope. The Reality Of Hope debuts on June 8, 2016 at DOCUMENTARY+.