The selection of Virtual Reality works that will be presented at this year’s 77th Venice International Film Festival has now been finalised. The works will be screened at the festival from 2 to 12 September as part of its Venice VR Expanded section.
As previously announced, the Virtual Reality works will this year be screened online, rather than on the island of Lazzaretto Vecchio in the Lido.
The Venice VR Expanded will present 31 immersive projects in Competition and nine projects Out of Competition, including an international selection of the finest VR works. This will occur alongside the screening of four projects developed during the fourth edition of the Biennale College Cinema – VR. One of these is the Italian project Vajont, which was supported by a Biennale grant. The 44 projects come from 24 countries.
The Venice International Film Festival was one of the first film festivals worldwide to demonstrate an interest in Virtual Reality. The development of the VR Theater in 2016 sparked enormous interest among participants at the Venice Production Bridge.
Starting in 2017, the festival launched its first Virtual Reality competition, and which has been held since. This year, the exclusively online accessibility of the Venice VR Expanded section represents a new commitment and a new challenge. It is hoped that this new format will guarantee that the Venice International Film Festival may continue to offer the experience of the new and rapidly evolving art form that is Virtual Reality.
The members of the International Jury of Venice VR Expanded will be lead by the jury president, Celine Tricart. She is a director and screenwriter, and an internationally renowned expert in Virtual Reality and 3D, well-known for the emotional power of her stories and her distinct visual style. She won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Immersive VR works for The Key at 2019’s Venice International Film Festival.
