The immersive programming of Venice 2023 highlights the international leaders of virtual reality
The Venice Immersive 2023 program has been unveiled.
The annual programming includes 44 projects from 25 countries, with Singing Chen as president of the judging panel. The selection of projects for the XR – Extended Reality section will take place during the 80th Venice International Film Festival from 30 August to 9 September. The official program is hosted on the Venice Immersive Island (island of Lazzaretto Vecchio), a short distance from the Venice Lido.
Venice Immersive is entirely dedicated to immersive media and includes all XR creative means of expression: 360° video and XR works of any length, including installations and virtual worlds. Twenty-eight projects are debuting in Competition, with 10 Out of Competition projects already released or having their international premiere elsewhere in the last year since the last edition of the Venice International Film Festival.
The immersive world of Venice on VRChat will feature a virtual presentation, with the Worlds Gallery section showcasing a selection of 24 virtual worlds, presented in Guided World Hops Tours for an engaging guided tour for the audience.
Jury members include President Singing Chen, whose latest VR experience “The Man Who Couldn’t Leave” won the Venice Immersive Best Experience 2022; German Heller, CEO and co-founder of 3DAR (“Paper Birds”, “Gloomy Eyes”); and Pedro Harres (“Castillo y el Armado”). The jury will award the following prizes: the Venice Immersive Grand Prize, the Venice Immersive Special Jury Prize and the Venice Immersive Achievement Prize.
In addition to the VR experiences in competition and out of competition, the Venice Immersive program hosts six projects developed during the Biennale College Cinema VR 1, produced thanks to a grant, plus five projects developed in the international workshop of previous editions.
The virtual reality programming of the Venice Film Festival was founded in 2016, with the first official competition for VR works launched in 2017. By 2022, the program was renamed Venice Immersive.
See the full Venice Immersive 2023 lineup below.
ENGAGING VENICE In Competition
EMPEROR (EMPEROR)
Of MARION BURGER, ILAN COHEN France, Germany / 35′
SONGS FOR A PASSENGER Of CELINE DAEMEN Netherlands / 25′
TULPAMANTE
Of MARC DA COSTA, MATTHEW NIEDERHAUSER United States / 20′
REMEMBER THIS PLACE: 31°20’46”N 34°46’46”E Of PATRICIA ECHEVERRIA LIRAS
Palestine, Qatar, Spain / 25′
LETTERS FROM DRANCY Of DARREN EMERSON United States, United Kingdom / 22′
THE IMAGINARY FRIEND
Of STEYE HALLEMA Holland, Belgium, France / 26′
WALLACE AND GROMIT IN THE GREAT ESCAPE
Of FINBAR HAWKINS, BRAM TTWHEAM, LAWRENCE BENETT France, United Kingdom / 60′
SEN
Of KEISUKE ITOH Japan / 15′
MY NAME IS O90 Of SIYEON KIM South Korea / 14′
WITHOUT CONVENIENCE
Of GINA KIM
South Korea, United States / 15′
MY BODY
Of CAMERON KOSTOPOULOS United States / 20′
UNIQUE-BABEL Of SANGHEE LEE South Korea / 15′
CHEN XIANG VR
Of LIU YUEJUN, WU NANNI, SHI TAO, XU JINGQIU China / 45′
TO FLOW
Of ADRIAN LOKMAN Holland, France / 15′
HOME
Of TEMSUYANGER LONGKUMER United Kingdom / 32′
POPULAR
Of MAYA MOUAWAD, CYRIL LAURIER France, Lebanon / 10′
FLOATING WITH SPIRITS
Of JUANITA ONZAGA
Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland / 31′
SYUHASUU (FREQUENCY) Of ELLIE OMYA
Japan / 25′
PEPITOS: THE SAGA OF THE BECK
Of RUXANDRA GABRIELA POPESCU United Kingdom, United States / 13′
JIM HENSON’S NARRATOR: THE SEVEN RAVENS Of PAUL RAPHAEL, FÉLIX LAJEUNESSE
Canada, United States / 20′
PERENNIAL
Of ZOE ROELLIN United States / 17′
FINALLY ME (FINALLY ME) Of ROTTEN SALT
Brazil / 14′
GARGOYLE DOYLE
Of ETHAN SHAFTEL
United States, Argentina, Austria / 38′
UPWIND Of FLORIAN SIEBERT Germany / 28′
HORSE CANYON Of NPROWLER Canada / 60′
SHADOW TIME
Of SOR SYLVESTER, SEA SEED Holland, USA, Türkiye / 20′
COMPLEX 7 Of FINS United States / 30′
POINTS OF LIGHT
Of ADAM WEINGROD Israel, Canada / 14′
Best of Immersive – Out of competition
(international selection of the best works released or previewed elsewhere from the last edition of the Venice International Film Festival)
ANOTHER FISHERMAN’S TALE
Of ALEXIS MOROZ, BALTHAZAR AUXIETRE France / 240′
DAVID ATTENBOROUGH’S CONQUEST OF THE SKIES Of LEWIS BALL
United Kingdom, United States / 22′
THE FIRST INGREDIENT: TALES FROM SODA ISLAND – CHAP. 7 Of SIMON FOUGNIER
United States / 17′
SPACE EXPLORERS: BLUE MARBLE – ORBIT 1 Of FÉLIX LAJEUNESSE, PAUL RAPHAEL Canada / 24′
THE CLOSET Of LIONEL MARSDEN United Kingdom / 80′
THE CONSENT OF THE NATION Of KAREN PALMER United Kingdom, United States / 25′
COLLECTION
Of WINSLOW PORTER, ELIE ZANANIRI United States / 8′
OVER THE RAINBOW Of CRAIG QUINTERO Taipei / 11′
PIXEL TORN 1978 Of ANA RIBEIRO United States / 20′
GAUDI, THE ATELIER DU DIVIN
Of STEPHANE LANDOWSKI, GAEL CABOUAT France, Japan / 17′
Biennale College Cinema – VR – Out of Competition
QUEER UTOPIA: ACT I CRUISING
Of HE APPROVED producer: RODRIGO MOREIRA
Portugal, Brazil / 25′
developed during Biennale College Cinema VR, 6th edition (2021/2022)
TALES OF THE MARCH
Of STEFANO CASERTANO, manufacturers: STEFANO CASERTANO, TIM DEUSSEN Germany, Italy / 12′
developed during Biennale College Cinema VR, 5th edition (2020/2021)
THE FIRST DAY
Of VALERIY KORSHUNOV, producer: SVITLANA KORSHUNOVA
Ukraine / 15′
product with the concession from Biennale College Cinema VR, 7th edition (2022/2023)
HUMAN VIOLINS – PRELUDE
Of IOANA MISCHIE, producers: IOANA MISCHIE, SORIN BAICAN, JEREMY SAHEL & co Romania, France / 19′
developed during Biennale College Cinema VR, 5th edition (2021/2022)
ORIGIN
Of EMILIA SANCHEZ CHIQUETTI, producer: EMILIA SANCHEZ CHIQUETTI Brazil / 25′
developed during Biennale College Cinema VR, 5th edition (2020/2021)
A VOCAL LANDSCAPE
Of OMID ZAREI, ANNE JEPPESEN, producers: OMID ZAREI, ANNE JEPPESEN Denmark, United States / 14′
developed during Biennale College Cinema VR, 4th edition (2019/2020)
Gallery of the Worlds
A JOURNEY IN THE FOREST Of Thrilling
OVER A LITTLE – A little beyond the imagination of EstyOctober
BREAKING TOGETHER Of PK extension
CLUB DIVERT Of TOTC
CUBES (EXPERIMENTAL) Of fi16
CYBERLOVE OKINAWA ˸˸˸ Okinawan near Artistic problem
DRAGON_TOWN Of COMA.
EPILOGUE. CHAPTER 1. Of Doctor Morro
EPILOGUE. CHAPTER 2. Of Doctor Morro
SHOW ⁄ LITTLE TRAITORS Of haruki_haru
FATBOY SLIM – EAT, SLEEP, VR, REPEAT Of Fatboy Slim, ENGAGE XR and Anglo Management
IY MMD WORLD Of Iris Alias
LUMINESCENT FRAME Of Thorinair
SPEND SOME TIME Of Carl Kronen
REALITY IS WRONG Of sɪᴍᴘʟᴇ – ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ
STORM DRAIN by @CattusEx
PRECIPICE TARRO Of Charles Corona
TERRA COTTA VALLEY Of Eightfold
THAD MANDELBOX Of Thad Giver
THE RECURCIVE GARDEN OF THAD Of Thad Giver
THAD RECURSIVE ROOM Of Thad Giver
THE SPARK OF THE WORLD Of TSMRE extension
VEINPRM0118 Of VEIN_A
ZEP PARTICLE HELL Of Zepwlert
14 ENGAGING STORY PROJECTS
14 immersive story projects (9 from Europe and 5 from the rest of the world), including fiction, documentary and animated film and other interactive installation experiences. All projects have 30% of their budget guaranteed.
11 PROJECTS AT THE BIENNALE COLLEGE CINEMA VR
11 projects developed during the Biennale College Cinema VR workshop, seventh edition, in various stages of development, from pre-production to post-production.