The 8th edition of the NewImages Festival opens its doors to professionals and the general public from Wednesday April 9 to Sunday. As a sign of the industry’s vitality, the market dimension has been expanded, and a variety of works will be on show, as well as a series of conferences devoted to ethical reflection. This is an opportunity to question the messages delivered through devices that are as close as possible to our retina, and that challenge, modify or reinforce our cognitive biases.
Cover: ALL ABOUT TEACHER LI, by Zhuzmo – XR Competition
Immersive, a growing market for the industry
Looking back on the previous edition of the NewImages Festival, Michèle Ziegler, its director, shares that “in 2024, we noted that foreign delegations came in large numbers, which only strengthens the appeal of the festival and its international dimension”. As a sign of growing interest in immersive devices worldwide, the share of voice given to the market has expanded.
The first change this year is the organization of the market. Instead of mornings open to industry professionals, entire days will be devoted to finding creative, technical, financial and distribution partners, enabling them to promote projects that are eager to reach out to their audiences.
The second change is a greater openness to the private sector, with the presence of galleries and other international stakeholders who can position themselves as financial backers to support creation. In the market segment, the team is concerned about the variety of decision-makers “but also the region of the world where these projects are born” insists Mr. Ziegler.
This international outlook is also reflected in the projects selected for residency. “We are pleased to welcome representatives from Paraguay, Argentina, and Canada,” says Michèle Ziegler, rejoiced.
A public with a growing appetite for exploration
In a study carried out by the CNC in June 2023, the conclusions are clear. The penetration rate of headsets in French homes rose from 7% to 15% between 2019 and 2023, and the public’s enthusiasm continues unabated. 49% of French people say they have experienced VR, which is 7 points more than in 2019. While virtual reality enjoys a higher profile than Metavers, the latter is not far behind, and the public is just waiting to be convinced. Museums and exhibitions are a major entry point for these technologies.
Technology is good, content is better.
As Benoît Bouthinon of Virtual Room rightly reminded us during a round table at Immersity last March, “content is paramount and will become the driver of our strategy”.
Once the curiosity of a new technology has passed, we need to build user loyalty, and to do that we need varied content that speaks to them. And it’s to this diversity that Michèle Ziegler is attentive: “I don’t come from an audiovisual background, and perhaps that’s what helps me to distance myself from this sector and move towards a decompartmentalization of artistic fields”. Culture in France represents a dozen creative fields. From the outset, NewImages Festival has been multidisciplinary. “We are convinced that porosity between disciplines is an asset for creation in the XR sector,” adds the director.
The dynamics of the historical-patrimonial journey are important, but it’s also important to support original content. While it’s true that the big studios are present at NewImages Festival, independent productions are also highlighted.
Making culture accessible to as many people as possible
The DNA of the Forum des Images has not changed. Founded in 1988 as the Vidéothèque de Paris, the Forum des Images is a place for cinephiles, offering the public cycles of themed screenings designed to forge links between films, between eras and between points of view. Over the years, this intention has never wavered. New bodies of films and formats have expanded the venue’s proposition, culminating in the 2017 creation of NewImages Festival, the festival of digital creation and virtual worlds, under the artistic direction of Michael Swierczynski.
This large public circulates in a space of consumption and can slow down to offer itself a cultural and reflective pause. No fewer than thirty works (in and out of competition) will be on show, accessible to everyone.
As in the previous edition, two conferences will be open over the weekend. And to better welcome the audience, “this time I wanted to focus less on virtual reality and technology, and more on the general public. The subjects addressed concern each and every one of us – they’re societal issues,” emphasizes Mr. Ziegler. To say the least. On Saturday April 12, at 5pm, we’ll be talking about From code to consciousness: how to understand AI as an issue of resistance. And Sunday 13, again at 5pm, States, billionaires, corporations: who’s investing in immersive technology, AI and social networks? These top-quality panels will appeal to an audience questioning the multiple possibilities for capturing personal data and potentially constrained narrative threads in an economy that is becoming increasingly tense, with situations that are sometimes almost monopolistic due to a lack of supported technological alternatives (read more on the subject: XR Creation: can we break free from Big Tech?)
A demanding program designed to encourage reflection and critical thinking
As for the competition, no fewer than 165 entries were received, 14 of which were selected. The event’s director aspires to have not just one prize, but prizes for each category: “Today, big-budget productions are competing against independent creators who are often self-financed, each with their own creations based on different technologies. It’s not always easy for our committee to make choices, but none of the projects are undeserving. Creating categories could be a response to the care we take to highlight diversity”.
As far as out-of-competition projects are concerned, a selection is made around a theme. This year, the theme is otherness. A societal and political issue. A conference for professionals will be held on the sensitive issue of decolonizing XR. Questioning the cognitive biases of those who make, commission or distribute productions is an interesting challenge. “Culture is a tool for emancipation”, Michèle Ziegler reminds us.
History shows us how, throughout the ages, the erasure of culture and identity has been a means of oppression and control. Just as there are consortia of media outlets to flush out fake news, isn’t it time to think about setting up an observatory on the messages disseminated in immersive content? Perhaps this could be strengthened in conjunction with ARCOM (Audiovisual and Digital Communications Regulatory Authority in France)?
Immersive media education
Culture is a powerful medium, with a vocation to open minds and acquire a critical sense. Immersive media education could be considered because, as Michèle Ziegler points out, “when you have a helmet on your head, you’re immersed in a universe, there’s a narrative thread, values that are carried by the work in which we find ourselves”.
There can also be a romanticization of historical moments that emerges more or less opportunely if the audience is not accompanied by genuine cultural mediation. While some institutions take great care to ensure scientific rigor, what about projects that are not scientifically validated? What trace(s) will they leave in the mind of the participant immersed in a flood of images and words?
A German with a keen appreciation and knowledge of French culture, Michèle Ziegler never forgets that some young Germans are detached from their own history, particularly the Holocaust. “An experience with a helmet can help reactivate memory. When we are ‘in the shoes’ of someone taken to a camp, the emotions are strong, they run through our bodies. It’s harder to forget. Conversely, if we’re not careful, scientifically erroneous or even revisionist messages can find their way into a narrative.
Immersive, quickly, under your skin
When we ask Michèle Ziegler what she aspires to for NewImages Festival and immersive, her answer is clear: “With or without me at its helm, I dream that NewImages Festival will become for immersive art what Séries Mania represents for the series sector.” Séries Mania was created at the Forum des Images before moving to Lille.
Practical information:
- NewImages Festival from April 9 to 13, 2025
- Where to find the festival with PRM access
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