We all feel the same basic emotions: fear, anger, surprise, disgust, sadness and happiness. And no matter where you are from you don’t just see a film, you feel it. So using the human face as a display, emotional data collected from film critics and an innovative use of technology, we created movie trailers that spoke every language. The Emotional Trailer.

To do this we first held special preview screenings with prominent movie critics to capture the 6 key human emotions of fear, anger, surprise, disgust, sadness and happiness for every film at the festival via our custom mobile app and biometric sensors. This data created an Emotional Script condensing an entire 2 hour film into under one minute. The data was then fed via electric stimulation into the facial muscles of willing participants to act out the emotional arc of an entire film, using the human face as a display. Before each film at the festival, audiences also experienced the Emotional Scripts in a custom-built movie chair we called the Emotional Simulator. The simulator sessions sold out within two days. All these experiences were filmed, and created Emotional Trailers for every film at the festival.

The highest ever sales results in MIFF’s history. The Emotional Trailers drove an 800% increase in social shares. Tickets to preview films sold out within two days. The excitement around the Emotional Simulator and Emotional Trailers drove the following festival records.

800% Increase in social shares for the festival

Biggest ticket sales in MIFF’s 65 year history

$30,165,012 in earned media

Number 1 attraction at the festival

14 million people reached

40% Increase in mobile traffic to website