Venice Immersive 2025 Unveils Six Groundbreaking XR Works
- Horror Movies Uncut
- 6 hours ago
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Six Immersive Works Expanding the Possibilities of Storytelling at Venice Immersive 2025
As the Venice International Film Festival gears up, the Venice Immersive program once again proves why it’s the premier space for boundary-pushing XR. This year, six standout projects are redefining the form, bringing history, myth, identity, and artistry into new dimensions of experience. Five of the six are helmed by women creators, signaling a necessary recalibration of whose voices are shaping the medium.
1968
Directed by Rose Bond
Produced by Melanie Coombs (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio)
Country: USA | 9 minutes
A communal VR theatre built under a geodesic dome, 1968 channels the unrest of a pivotal year through hand-drawn animation and sound spatialization. Bond and Coombs merge protest, resilience, and global interconnection into a collective act of remembrance—where history isn’t just observed but inhabited.
Alien Perspective
Directed by Jung Ah Suh
Produced by Cristina Rambaldi
Country: USA, Italy | 15 minutes
On the centennial of effects legend Carlo Rambaldi, Alien Perspective opens a portal into his lesser-known metaphysical paintings. Visitors enter a cosmic architecture that reframes Rambaldi’s artistry beyond cinema—transforming archival vision into a fully immersive landscape.
Black Cats & Chequered Flags
Directed by Elisabetta Rotolo & Siobhan McDonnell
Country: Italy | 20 minutes
From ghostly memories of Formula 1 driver Alberto Ascari to multiplayer pit-stop challenges, this mixed reality work shifts gears between intimate reflection and high-octane collaboration. Blending archival footage with stylized VR, it captures both the thrill and fragility of racing destiny.
Creation of the Worlds
Directed by Kristina Buožytė & Vitalijus Žukas
Country: Lithuania | 28 minutes
Inspired by Lithuanian artist-composer M.K. Čiurlionis, this contemplative VR transports viewers through 60+ of his paintings. Buožytė (Vanishing Waves) crafts a meditative, wordless journey where color, sound, and symbolism form a sanctuary for reflection and universal myth.
Reflections of Little Red Dot
Directed by Chloé Lee
Country: Germany, USA | 40 minutes
Winner of the SXSW Jury Award, Lee’s XR installation reclaims Singapore’s contested history. Through archival video, hand-drawn figures, and layered environments, the project examines how rapid urban development displaces memory and community while sparking resilience in identity.
The Great Orator
Directed by Daniel Ernst
Country: Netherlands | 40 minutes
A preacher who died at the height of fame is reborn as an AI consciousness, endlessly mutating through the shared memories of her followers. Nonlinear and interactive, the piece questions identity, faith, and digital immortality—asking visitors to decide what’s real.
Final Take
Venice Immersive 2025 isn’t just about VR as novelty. It’s about how XR can carry protest, mythology, legacy, and collective memory into new forms of art. Whether under a sound dome, on a racetrack, or inside a digital consciousness, these works remind us that immersive media isn’t the future of storytelling—it’s the now.
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