ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Giant: Milica Zec's VR short about war premieres at Maxxi Rome

exhibition · 2026-05-05

Giant, a virtual reality short film by Serbian director Milica Zec, is presented at the Maxxi museum in Rome. The 6-minute immersive experience places viewers in a basement bunker where a family shelters from bombing, using the metaphor of a giant to represent war. The work was developed through the New Museum's incubator program for art, technology, and design, and premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. It is the first chapter of a trilogy on human-inflicted evil, with the second chapter, Tree, addressing climate change. The Italian screenings were promoted by Fondazione Pianoterra onlus. The VR piece uses 360-degree technology to create a single continuous shot, making the experience of conflict visceral and personal, moving beyond typical news coverage.

Key facts

  • Giant is a virtual reality short film by Milica Zec.
  • It was developed through the New Museum's incubator program.
  • Premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
  • First presented in Italy at the Ferrara International Festival.
  • Now shown at Maxxi in Rome.
  • The film is 6 minutes long.
  • It depicts a family sheltering from bombing, using a giant as a metaphor for war.
  • Giant is the first chapter of a trilogy; Tree is the second chapter on climate change.
  • Italian events promoted by Fondazione Pianoterra onlus.
  • The VR experience uses 360-degree technology for an immersive single shot.

Entities

Artists

  • Milica Zec
  • Winslow Turner Portr III

Institutions

  • Maxxi
  • New Museum
  • Sundance Film Festival
  • Ferrara International Festival
  • Fondazione Pianoterra onlus

Locations

  • Rome
  • Italy
  • New York
  • Brooklyn
  • Ferrara

Sources