Venice Immersive, the XR – Extended Reality strand of the Venice International Film Festival (August 30-September 9) has unveiled its competition selection for 2023.
The 28 projects include Wallace & Gromit In The Grand Getaway based on the stop-motion comedy franchise. It is directed by Finbar Hawkins, Bram Ttwheam and Lawrence Benetta and is a co-production between Wallace & Gromit’s UK creator Aardman, with the UK’s No Ghost and French companies Atlas V, Albyon and Astrea. The 60-minute VR experience takes players on a holiday gone awry with the duo when the rocket they use veers off course.
The next Wallace & Gromit feature is set for 2024 for Netflix.
Venice Immersive is also showcasing 10 projects that will play out of competition, six projects developed during the Biennale College Cinema programme and 24 have been selected for the Worlds Gallery, immersive guided tours created by global artists.
The jury is presided over by Taipei director Singing Chen whose The Man Who Couldn’t Leave won best experience at Venice Immersive last year. Also on the jury is US producer German Heller whose VR projects have screened at Venice, Tribeca and SXSW; and Brazilian filmmaker Pedro Harres whose From The Main Square won the jury prize at Venice Immersive last year.
Venice Immersive, formally known as Venice VR Expanded, was first introduced in 2017 and is dedicated to immersive media and XR in all forms including 360° videos, installations and virtual worlds. The programme takes place on the island of Lazzaretto Vecchio or Venice Immersive Island as it is called during the festival.
The line-up for Venice’s Official Selection is expected to be announced on Tuesday, July 25.
Venice Immersive Competition 2023
Emperor (Fr-Ger)
dirs. Marion Burger, Ilan Cohen
Songs For A Passerby (Neth)
dir. Celine Daemen
Remember This Place: 31°20’46’’N 34°46’46’’E (Palestine-Qat-Sp)
dir. Patricia Echeverria Liras
Tulpamancer (US)
dirs. Marc Da Costa, Matthew Niederhauser
Letters From Drancy (US-UK)
dir. Darren Emerson
The Imaginary Friend (Neth-Bel-Fr)
dir. Steye Hallema
Wallace & Gromit In The Grand Getaway (Fr-UK)
dirs. Finbar Hawkins, Bram Ttwheam, Lawrence Benett
Sen (Jap)
dir. Keisuke Itoh
My Name Is O90 (S. Kor)
dir. Siyeon Kim
Comfortless (S. Kor-US)
dir. Gina Kim
Body Of Mine (US)
dir. Cameron Kostopoulos
Oneroom-Babel (S. Kor)
dir. Sanghee Lee
Chen Xiang VR (China)
dirs. Liu Yuejun, Wu Nanni, Shi Tao, Xu Jingqiu
Flow (Neth-Fr)
dir. Adriaan Lokman
Home (UK)
dir. Temsuyanger Longkumer
Populate (Fr-Leb)
dir. Maya Mouawad, Cyril Laurier
Floating With Spirits (Bel-Lux-Neth)
dir. Juanita Onzaga
Frequency (Jap)
dir. Ellie Omiya
Pepitos: The Beak Saga (UK-US)
dir. Ruxandra Gabriela Popescu
Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: The Seven Ravens (Can-US)
dirs. Paul Raphael, Felix Lajeunesse
Perennials (US)
dir. Zoe Roellin
Finally Me (Bra)
dir. Marcio Sal
Gargoyle Doyle (US-Arg-Austria)
dir. Ethan Shaftel
Upwind (Ger)
dir. Florian Siebert
Horse Canyon (Can)
dir. Nprowler
Shadowtime (Neth-US-Turk)
dirs. Sister Sylvester, Deniz Tortum
Complex 7 (US)
dir. Fins
Spots Of Light (Israel-Can)
dir. Adam Weingrod
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