Until September 10, the 'Venice Immersive' initiative showcases XR projects amongst various attractions at the Venice Film Festival this year.

Is the oldest film festival in the world about to introduce a new category? metaverse It certainly appears that way. The 79th Venice Film Festival has just kicked off, and with its origins dating back to 1932, this biennial event on the picturesque Italian island is reputed to be the oldest of its kind. As always, Venice has attracted a star-studded crowd, featuring notable names such as Cate Blanchett, Don Cheadle, and Timothée Chalamet. Did you catch his striking all-red ensemble on the red carpet?

Building on the experimentation with metaverse technology seen in previous years, this edition of the Venice Film Festival boasts an entire metaverse island located near Lido, where the star-studded festivities take place. Rebranded as 'Venice Immersive' after the previous two years' 'Venice VR', this segment of the event runs the full length of the festival, from September 1 to 10. Key players like Meta are involved. HTC Vive have come on as sponsors.

Visitors can step into the metaverse on a petite island, just a quick shuttle ride from the main festival hub at Lido. Eu r oNews They can engage in gaming activities, enjoy guided tours across various worlds, adorn costumes alongside performance artists, or even assist Coco Chanel in the creation of her iconic Chanel No. 5 perfume.

Since 2017, Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac have been at the helm of this side event. They mentioned this year that they aim to highlight the potential of future virtual storytelling and the new mediums becoming accessible to filmmakers as well as audiences.

For the very first time, Venice Immersive has broadened its scope beyond just XR projects to celebrate a wide array of immersive tech, which includes 360-degree videos, installations, and virtual realms. VR and XR The island features over 75 projects available for in-person viewing, segmented into six categories. Out of these, thirty projects are competing for honors.

EuroNews points to Matthew Shaw’s 'Framerate: The Pulse of Earth' as a strong contender in the competition, alongside Mathias Chelebourg’s 'Rencontre(s),' which features Marion Cotillard lending her voice to the legendary French fashion designer Coco Chanel as she collaborates with famed perfumer Ernest Beaux to craft the revolutionary Chanel No. 5 perfume—this perfume not only brought masculine scents to women but also made synthetic ingredients mainstream. VR headsets , but not all.  

Each piece showcased in Venice Immersive carries its details on the official Film Festival website.

Chelebourg beautifully portrays the avant-garde Parisian scene of the early 20th century: 'Imagine Pierre Reverdy fervently debating with Jean Cocteau, or Picasso igniting scandals at the Théâtre du Châtelet with his stage curtains for Serge Diaghilev and Erik Satie's modern ballet.' There Having consumed Axel Madsen’s biography on Chanel an astonishing thirteen times, I can tell you that Chanel had a romance with Reverdy and even funded Cocteau’s rehab stint for opium addiction. She designed costumes for the expatriate Russian theatre productions, such as ‘The Rite of Spring.’ The VR representation of Chanel working alongside Beaux captures the beginnings of her complex relationship with antisemitism; she held a grudge until her death, convinced that Beaux had deceived her regarding the No. 5 deal.

Among the diverse offerings in the Competition segment, there’s ‘', an immersive theatrical experience directed by Craig Quintero featuring Taiwanese performers, and a charming animation titled ‘', crafted by Argentinian artist German Heller.

Venice Immersive is also showcasing three projects from College Cinema VR while shining a spotlight on the top ten immersive works, including ‘Kingdom of Plants with David Attenborough.’ All That Remains The Worlds Gallery presents an additional 30 projects, along with a special showing of UK-based Joe Hunting’s poignant documentary, 'We Met in Virtual Reality,' and two exclusive Special Events Club Worlds, featuring the much-discussed ‘', a project from South Africa that serves as a VRChat digital counterpart to a real music venue in downtown Johannesburg called Soda Studios. Afrotech and DJs will be streaming live throughout the week. Eggscape Rosenthal shared with EuroNews, 'This is the largest edition we’ve ever produced for Venice Immersive.' While Festival participants can enjoy the offerings, there are also passes available specifically for the island. On top of that, due to the decentralized nature of the tech involved, anyone at home can explore it too.

In the past, 'talkies' were dismissed as evil media for their time—a sentiment that has also encroached upon physical books and now, more recently, extended reality. Yet, just like with prior innovations, society has embraced these advancements, enhancing our storytelling capabilities, which is a deeply human endeavor that connects us across different walks of life and fortifies us during challenging times.

'There really isn’t an existing market for immersive arts,' Reilhac commented. 'This is the dawn of a new artistic movement and quite possibly an entire industry.' Only time will tell if this transforms into something substantial. However, it's clear that those who once held the reins are already acknowledging its importance. Sodaworld The Decentral Art Pavilion in Venice hosted a luxurious exhibition showcasing NFTs and digital fashion.

The VMAs recently awarded the title of Metaverse Performance of the Year to the K-pop sensation BLACKPINK. Learn more here .

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Vittoria Benzine is an art writer and personal essayist residing in Brooklyn, focusing on contemporary art with an emphasis on human contexts, counterculture, and the mystique of chaos magic. She has contributed to publications such as Maxim, Hyperallergic, and Brooklyn Magazine, among others.

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