‘Peaky Blinders’ XR project among 2022 Venice Immersive competition

Venice Immersive, the XR (extended reality) section of the Venice International Film Festival, has unveiled its official selection for 2022 with 30 projects playing in competition.

Six of the XR competition projects come from the UK, including Peaky Blinders: The King’s Ransom, a VR spin-off from the hit drama series.

A dark action-adventure VR game that will immerse players in the world of the show, Peaky Blinders: The King’s Ransom is produced by UK games developer Maze Theory and will launch later this year. 

Formerly known as Venice VR Expanded, the competition has rebranded as Venice Immersive to include immersive media beyond VR. It now spans 360° videos and XR works of any length, including installations, live performances and virtual worlds.

Venice was the first A-list festival to launch a competition for VR in 2017, and has since emerged as a leading showcase for XR filmmaking.

As well as 30 projects in competition, Venice Immersive will have 10 projects out of competition. The Worlds Gallery section also returns and will feature a selection of 30 virtual worlds and two special events.

The jury for Venice Immersive comprises Anagram founder May Abdalla, VR filmmaker David Adler and choreographer, film director, dancer and actress Blanca Li.

The official selection will return as in person event to the Venice Immersive Island – on the island of Lazzaretto Vecchio - a short distance from the Lido di Venezia, for the first time since 2019. The competition was held virtually in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. 

Venice Immersive will open with a press preview on the afternoon of August 30. The selection will be open to the press and industry accredited guests on August 31, and will then be open to the public and accredited visitors from September 1 – 10.

The first VIM - Venice Immersive Market, a part of the Venice Production Bridge, will also run from September 1-6, and there will be a presentation of the immersive projects selected for the Venice Gap-Financing Market (September 1-4).

Venice Immersive Competition Line-Up

Ascenders (Fr)
Dir: Jonathan Astruc, Jonathan Tamene

Stay Alive My Son (Greece)
Dir: Victoria Bousis

Reimagined Volume I: Nyssa (US)
Dir: Julie Cavaliere, Michaela Holland

Rencontre(s) (Fr)
Dir: Mathias Chelebourg

The Man Who Couldn’t Leave (Taipei)
Dir: Chen Singing

All Unsaved Progress Will Be Lost (Fr)
Dir: Mélanie Courtinat

Eurydice, A Descent Into Infinity (Netherlands)
Dir: Celine Daemen

Okawaridir (Fr-Can)
Dir: Landia Egal, Amaury Burthe

Dazzle: A Re-Assembly Of Bodies (UK)
Dir: Ruth Gibson, Bruno Martelli, Alexa Pollmann, Bine Roth

Peaky Blinders: The King’s Ransom (UK)
Dir: Russell Harding, Tim Jones, Marcus Moresby

From The Main Square (Ger)
Dir: Pedro Harres

Sorella’s Story (Australia-Hun-Swe)
Dir: Peter Hegedus

Eggscape (Arg)
Dir: German Heller, Jorge Tereso, Federico Heller

Typeman (Jap)
Dir: Keisuke Itoh

Kindred (UK)
Dir: Bambou Kenneth

Poet’s Room (S.Kor)
Dir: Bomsok Ku

Gumball Dreams (US)
Dir: Deirdre V. Lyons, Christopher Davis

Namuanki (US)
Dir: Kevin Mack

Darkening (Cz Rep-Ger)
Dir: Ondřej Moravec

All That Remains (Taipei)
Dir: Quintero Craig

Rock Paper Scissors (UK)
Dir: Alex Ruhl

Thank You For Sharing Your World (Jap)
Dir: Yu Sakudo, Toshiaki Hanzaki

Eternelle, Notre Dame (Fr)
Dir: Bruno Seillier

Framerate: Pulse Of The Earth (UK)
Dir: Matthew Shaw, William Trossell

Mrs Benz: Vojage Of Discovery (UK)
Dir: Eloise Singer

Uncanny Alley (S.Afr)
Dir: Rick Treweek

Fight Back (Fr-US)
Dir: Celine Tricart

Treasure Heist (US)
Dir: Luan Trinh

Mandala - A Brief Moment In Time (China-Fr)
Dir: Thomas Villepoux

Red Tail (Taipei)
Dir: Wang Fish 

Venice Immersive – Out Of Competition

On The Morning You Wake (To The End Of The World) (Fr-UK-US)
Dir: Mike Brett, Steve Jamison, Pierre Zandrowicz, Arnaud Colinart,

(Hi)Story Of A Painting: The Light In The Shadow (UK)
Dir: Quentin Darras, Gaelle Mourre

Area Man Lives (US)
Dir: Amy Green, Ryan Green

Lustration (Australia-US)
Dir: Ryan Griffen

Alex Honnold : The Soloist VR (UK-Fr-US)
Dir: Jonathan Griffith

Space Explorers: The ISS Experience- Episode 3: Unite (Can)
Dir: Félix Lajeunesse, Paul Raphael 

Space Explorers: The ISS Experience – Spacewalkers (Can)
Dir: Félix Lajeunesse, Paul Raphael

Kingdom Of Plants With David Attenborough (UK-US)
Dir: Iona Mcewan

The Miracle Basket (Neth)
Dir: Abner Preis

Shores Of Loci (US)
Dir: Ellen Utrecht, James Sundra, Dani Bittman, Daisy Berns

• Eight talking points from the Venice 2022 line-up