Plot Summary:Before Colin Kaepernick, there was Arthur Ashe. In 1968, one of America's most tumultuous years, Ashe emerged as an elite athlete who parlayed his fame as the first black man to win the US Open tennis championship into a lifetime devoted to fighting injustice. The ASHE '68 Virtual Reality Experience brings viewers into the intimate moments right before Arthur Ashe's historic 1968 US Open win, an event that changed his life and the course of sports history forever. From the internal pressures he felt during this turbulent cultural shift, to walking down the halls of Forest Hills' all white West Side Tennis Club, to his historic pre-match press conference and winning match point - the viewer is right there, immersed in that historic day witnessing Ashe's defining moment as an athlete and emergence as an activist on the world stage.\n\nThis unique VR experience weaves together 360° video re-creations, archival material, and evocative, never-before-seen 360° sand animation to tell the story. The film previewed at the 2018 US Open and will travel to more top-tier international tennis events, schools and conferences after Sundance - engaging audiences with a story that blends sports and social justice into an experience as relevant today as it was fifty years ago. In partnership with The Raben Group's Impact Entertainment division, ASHE '68 Virtual Reality Experience will lead a robust engagement campaign designed to spur conversation about opportunity and inequality, empower individuals to advocate for local change, and create positive impact in communities nationwide.
