2023 Venice International Film Festival Immersive Selections Revealed

The selection of projects for Venice Immersive, the XR – Extended Reality section of the 80th Venice International Film Festival (30th August – 9th September 2023) of La Biennale di Venezia, is now complete. The official program will take place on the Venice Immersive Island (island of Lazzaretto Vecchio), a short distance from the Lido di Venezia and is entirely devoted to immersive media and includes all XR means of creative expression: 360° videos and XR works of any length, including installations and virtual worlds.

The 2023 Venice Immersive Jury will award the following prizes: 

• Venice Immersive Grand Prize
• Venice Immersive Special Jury Prize
• Venice Immersive Achievement Prize

The Venice Immersive section of the 80th Venice International Film Festival will be held with the support of HTC Vive and VRChat.

Venice Immersive will present 44 projects from 25 countries and 24 works in the Worlds Gallery section:

• 28 projects in Competition
• 10 projects Out of Competition – Best of Venice Immersive (international selection of the best works that have been released or premiered elsewhere since the last edition of the Venice International Film Festival)
• 6 projects developed during the Biennale College Cinema – VR: 1 project produced thanks to the grant from the seventh edition, 5 projects developed within the international workshop of the previous editions
• 24 worlds selected for the Worlds Gallery, presented in guided World Hops Tours, immersive guided tours. The users will be escorted through the selected VRChat Worlds featured in the Worlds Gallery. An ecosystem of virtual immersive worlds created by independent artists from all over the world

The Venice Immersive World on VRChat, will present a virtual version of the Venice Immersive Island. Following the success of the previous edition, the Worlds Gallery section will feature a selection of 24 virtual worlds. 

The Venice International Film Festival was one of the first film festivals in the world to show an interest in Virtual Reality. The development of a VR Theatre in 2016 sparked enormous interest among the participants of the Venice Production Bridge. Starting in 2017, La Biennale di Venezia launched the first competition for works in Virtual Reality in an A-list festival, which was held for three editions, through 2019, on the island of Lazzaretto Vecchio on the Lido, judged by an International Jury. The online accessibility of Venice VR Expanded over two editions (2020 and 2021) represented a new commitment and a new challenge to guarantee that the Venice International Film Festival would continue to offer the experience of this new art form, even in times of required social distancing. In 2022 the section, renamed Venice Immersive, returned in person to the island.

Accredited visitors to the Venice Film Festival will have access to all the titles in the line-up. There will also be a special Venice Immersive Pass available for interested visitors who are not accredited at the Festival. The Venice Immersive Subscription is reserved to people over 18 years of age and is available in two formats and on the following dates:

5-DAYS Venice Immersive Subscription (€ 60): valid for 5 days

FULL Venice Immersive Subscription (€ 90): valid from 31st August to 9th September

• 29th August (afternoon): press preview
• 30th August: open exclusively to Press and Industry accreditations
• 31st August – 9th September: open to the public and all accredited visitors

The members of the international Jury of Venice Immersive are:

• Singing Chen – president: (Taipei) her work encompasses fiction, documentary and VR films and has received numerous festival accolades. Her debut Bundled (2000) competed at Vancouver and God, Man, Dog (2007) screened at Berlinale, VIFF, HK, Busan and elsewhere. Chen’s documentaries detail artistic practice and the environment. Through VR technology she explores space and movement. Afterimage for Tomorrow (2018) was exhibited at the NewImage Festival. Her latest VR experience The Man Who Couldn’t Leave (2022) won Venice Immersive Best Experience at 79th Venice International Film Festival. Chen’s collective work is marked by a deep empathy for disenfranchised characters and a strong sense of social justice.

• German Heller: (USA) is the co-founder and CEO of 3DAR, a leading company in the field of virtual reality and animation. With over 20 years of experience in the role, he has earned nominations for the Emmy awards and at the Venice International Film Festival for projects like Paper Birds, Gloomy Eyes and Eggscape. This last project won the Venice Immersive Special Jury Prize at Venice International Film Festival in 2022. Heller’s diverse roles as a producer, writer, director, and game designer showcase his comprehensive expertise in XR and innovation in experiential design. A former software developer, he leverages his technical background to push the boundaries of digital storytelling and gaming.

• Pedro Harres: (Brazil) is a director, animator, screenwriter and multimedia artist. He was born in 1984, in Porto Alegre and is now based in Berlin. His oeuvre encompasses a wide range of formats, ranging from animation to fiction; traditional screen to XR; and including interactive installations as well. The Venice Film Festival has always played an important role in his career. Castillo y el Armado, his multi-awarded animated short, premiered in the Orizzonti competition of the 71st edition of the festival. After that, it gathered 55 awards and mentions throughout its festival career, including an Oscar qualification. And From The Main Square, his debut in virtual reality, won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice International Film Festival in 2022.

The 2023 Venice Immersive Jury will award the following prizes: 

• Venice Immersive Grand Prize
• Venice Immersive Special Jury Prize
• Venice Immersive Achievement Prize

VENICE IMMERSIVE – In Competition

EMPEREUR (EMPEROR) by MARION BURGER, ILAN COHEN France, Germany / 35’

SONGS FOR A PASSERBY  by CELINE DAEMEN  Netherlands / 25’

TULPAMANCER  by MARC DA COSTA, MATTHEW NIEDERHAUSER USA / 20’

REMEMBER THIS PLACE: 31°20’46’’N 34°46’46’’E  by PATRICIA ECHEVERRIA LIRAS Palestine, Qatar, Spain / 25’

LETTERS FROM DRANCY by DARREN EMERSON USA, UK / 22’ 

THE IMAGINARY FRIEND  by STEYE HALLEMA Netherlands, Belgium, France / 26’

WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE GRAND GETAWAY  by FINBAR HAWKINS, BRAM TTWHEAM, LAWRENCE BENETT France, UK / 60’

SEN  by KEISUKE ITOH Japan / 15’

MY NAME IS O90 by SIYEON KIM South Korea / 14’

COMFORTLESS by GINA KIM South Korea, USA / 15’

BODY OF MINE by CAMERON KOSTOPOULOS USA / 20’

ONEROOM-BABEL by SANGHEE LEE South Korea / 15’

CHEN XIANG VR by LIU YUEJUN, WU NANNI, SHI TAO, XU JINGQIU China / 45’

FLOW by ADRIAAN LOKMAN Netherlands, France / 15’

HOME by TEMSUYANGER LONGKUMERUK / 32’

PEUPLER (POPULATE) by MAYA MOUAWAD, CYRIL LAURIER France, Lebanon / 10’

FLOATING WITH SPIRITS by JUANITA ONZAGA Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands / 31’

SYUHASUU (FREQUENCY) by ELLIE OMIYA Japan / 25’

PEPITOS: THE BEAK SAGA by RUXANDRA GABRIELA POPESCU UK, USA / 13’

JIM HENSON’S THE STORYTELLER: THE SEVEN RAVENS by PAUL RAPHAËL, FÉLIX LAJEUNESSE Canada, USA / 20’

PERENNIALS by ZOE ROELLIN USA / 17’

FINALMENTE EU (FINALLY ME) by MARCIO SALBrazil / 14’

GARGOYLE DOYLE by ETHAN SHAFTEL USA, Argentina, Austria / 38’

AUFWIND (UPWIND) by FLORIAN SIEBERT Germany / 28’

HORSE CANYON by NPROWLER Canada / 60’

SHADOWTIME by SISTER SYLVESTER, DENIZ TORTUM Netherlands, USA, Turkey / 20’

COMPLEX 7 by FINS USA / 30’

SPOTS OF LIGHT by ADAM WEINGROD  Israel, Canada / 14’

Best of Immersive – Out of Competition

(international selection of the best works that have been released or premiered elsewhere since the last edition of the Venice International Film Festival)

ANOTHER FISHERMAN’S TALE by ALEXIS MOROZ, BALTHAZAR AUXIETRE France / 240’ 

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH’S CONQUEST OF THE SKIES by LEWIS BALL UK, USA / 22’

THE FIRST INGREDIENT: TALES FROM SODA ISLAND – CH. 7 by SIMONE FOUGNIER USA / 17’

SPACE EXPLORERS: BLUE MARBLE – ORBIT 1 by FÉLIX LAJEUNESSE, PAUL RAPHAËL Canada / 24’

THE UTILITY ROOM by LIONEL MARSDEN UK / 80’ 

CONSENSUS GENTIUM by KAREN PALMER UK, USA / 25’

FORAGER by WINSLOW PORTER, ELIE ZANANIRI USA / 8’

OVER THE RAINBOW by CRAIG QUINTERO Taipei / 11’

PIXEL RIPPED 1978 by ANA RIBEIRO USA / 20’

GAUDI, L’ATELIER DU DIVIN by STÉPHANE LANDOWSKI, GAËL CABOUAT France, Japan / 17’

Biennale College Cinema – VR – Out of Competition

QUEER UTOPIA: ACT I CRUISING by LUI AVALLOS producer: RODRIGO MOREIRA Portugal, Brazil / 25’ developed during the Biennale College Cinema VR, 6th edition (2021/2022) 

TALES OF THE MARCH by STEFANO CASERTANO, producers: STEFANO CASERTANO, TIM DEUSSEN Germany, Italy / 12’ developed during the Biennale College Cinema VR, 5th edition (2020/2021) 

FIRST DAY by VALERIY KORSHUNOV, producer: SVITLANA KORSHUNOVA Ukraine / 15’ produced with the grant from Biennale College Cinema VR, 7th edition (2022/2023) 

HUMAN VIOLINS – PRELUDE by IOANA MISCHIE, producers: IOANA MISCHIE, SORIN BAICAN, JEREMY SAHEL & co Romania, France / 19’ developed during the Biennale College Cinema VR, 5th edition (2021/2022) 

ORIGEN by EMILIA SÁNCHEZ CHIQUETTI, producer: EMILIA SÁNCHEZ CHIQUETTI Brazil / 25’ developed during the Biennale College Cinema VR, 5th edition (2020/2021)

A VOCAL LANDSCAPE by OMID ZAREI, ANNE JEPPESEN, producers: OMID ZAREI, ANNE JEPPESEN Denmark, USA / 14’ developed during the Biennale College Cinema VR, 4th edition (2019/2020) 

Worlds Gallery

A TRIP IN THE FOREST by Thrіll

BEYOND A BIT – 想像のちょっと先へ by EstyOctober

BREAK SET by PK

CLUB DEVIATE by TOTC 

CUBES (EXPERIMENTAL) by phi16

CYBERLOVE OKINAWA ˸˸˸ 沖縄 by Artsy Glitch

DRAGON_TOWN by COMA.

EPILOGUE․ CHAPTER 1. by DrMorro

EPILOGUE․ CHAPTER 2. by DrMorro

EXHIBITION ⁄ LITTLE TRAITORS by haruki_haru

FATBOY SLIM – EAT, SLEEP, VR, REPEAT by Fatboy Slim, ENGAGE XR and Anglo Management

IY MMD WORLD by Iris Alias

LUMINESCENT LEDGE by Thorinair

PASS OF TIME by Karl Kroenen

REALITY IS WRONG by sɪᴍᴘʟᴇ – ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ

STORM DRAIN by @CattusEx

TARRIED PRECIPICE by Karl Koronan

TERRA COTTA VALLEY by Octuplex

THAD MANDELBOX by Thad Gyther

THAD RECURSIVE GARDEN by Thad Gyther

THAD RECURSIVE ROOM by Thad Gyther

THE SPARK OF THE WORLD by TSMRE

VEINPRM0118 by VEIN_A

ZEP’S PARTICLE HELL by Zepwlert

The second edition of the Venice Immersive Market (31 August – 5 September), a part of the Venice Production Bridge, will take place on the Venice Immersive Island (Lazzaretto Vecchio). 

In the Spazio Incontri Immersivo there will be, from 31st August to 5th September, panel discussions and activities dedicated to the world of XR – Extended Reality.

The 2023 VPB Focus are Germany and Québec. German Films (Germany) and Sodec (Québec) will have dedicated areas within the context of VPB.

The Island will also be the place where teams (producer and creator) related to the Immersive projects selected for the Venice Gap-Financing Market will gather (1 – 3 September 2023):

14 IMMERSIVE STORY PROJECTS

14 Immersive Story Projects (9 from Europe and 5 from the rest of the world), including fiction, documentaries and animation films and other interactive installation experiences. All the projects have 30% of their budget guaranteed.

11 PROJECTS AT BIENNALE COLLEGE CINEMA VR

11 projects developed during the Biennale College Cinema VR workshop, seventh edition, in various phases of development, from pre-production to post production.