Online entertainment and especially movie streaming platforms came across as saviours for audiences, locked indoors amidst the pandemic induced gloom. While the movie going experience was hit by restrictions, innovation flourished to set the stage for online concerts and events assisted by VR.

In an age when the digital medium has blurred the lines to facilitate direct communication between performers and audiences, Netflix among others had introduced the concept of interactive cinema. Now the solution which lets people suggest how a storyline should proceed while watching a movie, instead of mentioning it in feedback later, is being rolled out for Middle East's movie goers.

The technology called CTRL will be launched in the region for the first time by Vox Cinemas, and Saudis as well as Emiratis will be able to experience the future of cinema. The world's first feature length interactive film Late Shift, created by award-winning talent Tobias Weber, will be screened in the region from August 5.

Movie lovers will be able to choose from 180 decision points that unlock unlimited possibilities for the plot, and will lead to seven alternative endings. Each individual will pick as many as 50 options through an app, and all of these votes will be processed to zero in on the most popular choices.

This futuristic solution, which turns storytelling on the big screen into a game by allowing the audience to take control, was sold out at the Beijing film festival.

During the lockdown, people have become used to indoor entertainment, enhanced by sophisticated new devices that offer an immersive, theatre-like experience at home. New offerings like this one will probably be able to attract cinema enthusiasts back to movie halls in the UAE.

Recent developments have seen AI being added to TVs for customising lighting and sounds according to the content on the screen. As for outdoor entertainment, art has also been enhanced by using modern techniques to combine visuals and audio effects in Dubai.