“There are fascinating worlds to explore thanks to new technologies” – Katharina Weser (Reynard Films)

Reynard Films (based in Leipzig, Germany) is a recognized name in the immersive ecosystem, with its ability to co-produce powerful and often socially engaged narrative works. With three of their projects being presented at the 2025 edition of Venice Immersive, here is a portrait of a young production company that navigates between traditional cinema (short and feature films) and technological innovation. Interview with Katharina Weser, co-founder and producer.

• EDDIE & I, by Maya Shekel
• THE CLOUDS ARE TWO THOUSAND METERS UP, by Singing Chen
• THE SAD STORY OF THE LITTLE MOUSE WHO WANTED TO BECOME SOMEBODY, by Nicolas Bourniquel, Floriane Cortes (cover)

Reynard Films, a 360-degree production company from the outset

Katharina Weser – The intention with Reynard Films, whether for cinema or XR, has always been to prioritize artistry and quality. In fact, our beginnings in immersive creation were the result of a chance encounter: a conversation I had after graduating with Igal Kohen, a French producer. He told me about a web series project led by his brother Abel, which included a virtual reality segment. It was BIOLUM, and it was one of our first productions… and therefore co-productions! The web series was never produced, but the VR film was. BIOLUM had a very successful run at festivals, with numerous selections and prestigious awards (including the Audience Award at SXSW and the Future is Sensible Award at the GIFF in Geneva). It was on this project that I learned everything, including how to use a real-time engine!

K. W. – It was through early projects such as BIOLUM that I saw the value of being able to produce different formats and take an interest in innovation. There are fascinating worlds to explore thanks to new technologies. At Reynard Films, we have a very cinematic approach, but that doesn’t exclude new forms of writing. In fact, this year in Venice, we will have three immersive works on display, as well as a feature film co-produced with Lebanon, IT’S A SAD AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD by Cyril Aris, produced in particular by my partner Georg Neubert. In all our projects, we seek to achieve the same narrative style, whether it’s a traditional film or an interactive work. It’s the same interest that emerges from our production work. I think that in a few years’ time, XR innovations will have been even more widely adopted by the cinema, and techniques will merge.

Keeping a cinematic dimension in every project

K. W. – Our projects always have a strong narrative element, whether they are XR experiences, films, or video games. It is important for us to remain focused on this aspect. This is also why we created Yaga Studio, which can support us in the production of our innovative projects while maintaining this connection to the world of storytelling. Our developers sometimes come from the gaming world, and our exchanges are enriched by our different approaches. It’s also up to us to move towards a more interactive, dynamic way of thinking, which can also lead us to truly original creations, with characters, colors, and worlds that I’ve never seen before.

K. W. – It is also an opportunity for us to break new ground in terms of creation. We have to invent everything from scratch, create production processes, but with a unique result in mind! Along the way, we have been fortunate enough to meet other producers internationally and establish long-term collaborations, notably with the French companies Atlas V and Astrea. Having a publisher at our side is a real strength and saves us a considerable amount of time.

K. W. – We are also fortunate to benefit from a well-established support system in Germany, both in traditional audiovisual media and innovation (immersive content, gaming). This gives us the strength to move forward on both fronts, without being limited to a single medium. Film producers today are forced to diversify by also producing television series. Our approach is identical with new media, which continues to give us a form of independence. This is how we are able to open up new horizons, with artists making their debut, such as Marion Burger and Ilan J. Cohen for EMPEROR. We are also supporting VR director Pedro Harres on his new project LALALABYRINTH. We are also supporting a physics researcher who is working on an artistic project. This allows us to welcome creators from very different backgrounds, support them on new paths, and build specific teams each time, with specific skills.

From Leipzig to the international stage

K. W. – And it is also because of this diversity and the originality of each project that we develop many international co-productions. THE SAD STORY OF THE LITTLE MOUSE WHO WANTED TO BECOME SOMEBODY by Nicolas Bourniquel and Floriane Cortes, for example, is a feature-length animated film in its own right. Our team (currently 15 people) has expertise in immersive creation, but also knows how to do animation. So we bring together different talents. That’s also how we became co-producers of a project like 9 MILLION COLORS by Bára Anna, a “flat” animated film that premiered at Annecy this year, for which we did the animation in Blender and Unity.

K. W. – Internationally, I am currently working with co-producers who offer me exciting projects. And these can come from anywhere: this year in Venice, we have projects co-produced with France, Israel, and Taiwan! THE CLOUDS ARE TWO THOUSAND METERS UP by Singing Chen, who already won an award at Venice Immersive with THE MAN WHO COULDN’T LEAVE in 2022, asked us to work on the animation part of her project. We worked with her on scenes using Gaussian Splatting, which was pretty new to us. But it’s this innovative side that keeps us going.

EDDIE & I : It’s a beautiful story about disability, which is a topic that is rarely addressed in interactive projects. I met Israeli director and producer Maya Shekel (Moosh Studio) through Max Permantier from FilmFernsehFonds Bayern. Maya knew exactly what she wanted, and we were able to contribute our experience in animation and coding.

THE SAD STORY OF THE LITTLE MOUSE WHO WANTED TO BECOME SOMEBODY, by Nicolas Bourniquel, Floriane Cortes : It was producer Antoine Cayrol who approached us while we were working on BIOLUM, with a genuine intention to make a VR film. It was a real cinematic ambition, which had to evolve during its development phase in a market that has since changed significantly. This led us to find a third co-producer in Belgium, THE PACK studio, to support us. In the end, most of the work was done in Germany. In France, we handled production monitoring and certain roles (such as director), and we created the music and the prototype.

THE CLOUDS ARE TWO THOUSAND METERS UP de Singing Chen : A magnificent project currently being finalized, to be seen in Venice for its world premiere!

http://www.reynardfilms.de