Venice Immersive to showcase 68 XR works at 83rd Film Festival

The 83rd Venice International Film Festival will feature the Venice Immersive section from September 2 to 12, marking the 10th anniversary of the dedicated space for extended reality (XR) works. The event will take place on the Lazzaretto Vecchio island.

This year's selection includes 68 projects from 26 countries. The competition features 30 works utilizing virtual, augmented, or mixed reality, including the installation ‘Bowie: Unseen | Unheard’ and ‘Nevatars,’ a piece featuring actor Andy Serkis. Other notable entries include documentaries on Mount Everest and the Galápagos Islands, as well as an interactive collective experience titled ‘La Laguna Parla’ scheduled for September 5.

Curator Michel Reilhac noted that immersive storytelling fundamentally changes the relationship between the audience and the image by allowing viewers to move through spaces and inhabit avatars rather than merely observing a fixed frame.