Just before SXSW in Austin, it’s Luxembourg that’s ringing the bell for the XR creative community by offering (as it has since 2017) a competition around immersive experiences (VR, AR, audio…), prizes and a VR Day dedicated to talks and conferences – all programmed with the help of the PHI in Montreal.
The VR Pavilion is open March, 1-19. And yes, it’s free!
(with a VR TO GO continuation March 20 – June 30)
Cover: ETERNAL @ Darkfield
Myriam Achard – Luxembourg has long supported the XR industry on the production side, and it seemed logical to accompany one of its main cultural events in the deployment of a professional discussion platform – and a VR Pavilion that would present a selection of works for the general public, and free access. What’s more, this year the space will remain open long after the festival!
M. A. – The Luxembourg City Film Festival is a real opportunity for PHI to expand its creative (and immersive) expertise worldwide. We have a team that provides technical and artistic support for the event over the long term – including scenography, curation, etc. I program the panels and projects presented with the Luxembourg FilmFund. And it’s an important moment to show works of all formats, not necessarily only VR, and to feed the curiosity of the ecosystem in Luxembourg that is interested in the sector. It is a country that has a technical industry to take to its new imaginations.
M. A. – We have to think about all audiences: the youngest are not eligible for the helmet, which is still too heavy and the equipment too restrictive. We are pursuing our projects in this area with our exhibitions The Infinite and CARNE y ARENA which are touring the United States – while waiting for other dates. And then the project of a new venue in Montreal, an innovative and bigger place scheduled to open in 2026…
Luxembourg City Film Festival 2023: Line-up
M. A. – At the VR Pavilion, presented as part of the Luxembourg City Film Festival, we select outstanding works of the last months to offer the best of what can exist. The objective is to offer to the public a real panorama of contemporary XR creation. With 360 films, more interactive experiences (especially in AR) or immersive audio … We work on the accessibility and dissemination of its works with a real ambition to present them to a public still unfamiliar with the stories we can tell. In this respect, the 2023 line-up presents a lot of diversity in the subjects, the cultures approached…
M. A. – The jury will be composed of Katayoun Dibamehr (producer Floréal Films), Dan Tucker (producer East City Films, most recently IN PURSUIT OF REPETITIVE BEATS) and Bettina Steinbrügge, director of Mudam – The Contemporary Art Museum of Luxembourg.
ALL THAT REMAINS
The unique look of a theater director on immersive creation. This 360 film uses the space wisely through an inspired realization, for a unique exchange with the spectator perceived as the central pawn of the device.
FROM THE MAIN SQUARE
What if animation could judge a dictatorship? Not devoid of humor, this film produced by a German university has all the energy and craziness of an independent production “by hand”, with its 2D sets and offbeat interactions. Delightful!
KUBO WALKS THE CITY
Like an “ethno-detective”, Director Hayoun Kwon invites you to follow the footsteps of Kubo, a Korean writer in his urban flanerie in Seoul in 1934, when Korea was under Japanese occupation. You discover the city through the press caricatures mocking the shortcomings of a part of Korean society emerging from the poverty and archaisms of the past, and discovering with reckless the modernity and prosperity coming with the occupation. Then you are confronted with the resistance of another part of the population, through the story of the first Korean athlete to win an Olympic medal in Berlin in 1936, seeing how this resistance was erased by censorship.
MISSING PICTURES EP. 1: BIRDS OF PREY
MISSING PICTURES EP. 2: THE SEVEN STORY BUILDING
MISSING PICTURES EP. 3; THE MONKEY WRENCH GANG
MISSING PICTURES EP. 4: FATHER IS GONE
MISSING PICTURES EP. 5: OH DEBU
Going in search of lost memories: virtual reality often embraces this idea, but for this 5-part series it takes the concept a step further! When filmmakers have projects in their box for too long, volumetric capture can help give shape to their abandoned projects.
ON THE MORNING YOU WAKE (TO THE END OF THE WORLD)
The XR for impact has a lot to offer. This project, born from the meeting between the organization Games for Change and the creators of NOTES ON BLINDNESS, demonstrates its strength. What if an edifying news item allowed us to reconsider our approach to nuclear energy? The news has since, unfortunately, caught up with the creation…
ETERNAL
ETERNAL is a 20-minute immersive audio experience for one person, alone in their bed. It explores the quandary of eternal life and wonders what price you would settle for to achieve it. ETERNAL is suitable for those 14+. By DARKFIELD (United Kingdom)
ACQUA ALTA
Designed, produced and edited by Adrien M & Claire B, Acqua Alta tells the story of a woman, a man, a house. A daily routine, absurd and filled with discrepancies. But one wet rainy day, their life is turned upside down: the rising waters drown their home in an ink-coloured sea. The woman slips and disappears. Only her hair remains, and it is alive. It tells the tale of a disaster, unique and universal. It tells of losing and searching. It tells of the fear of the bizarre and otherness, and how to tame it.
CONTAINER
Container is made in the memory of the 221 enslaved men, women and children who drowned in shackles onboard the Portuguese slave ship Sao Jose Paquette de Africa in 1794. Those who survived were sold into slavery in Cape Town. Their ancestors continue to live amongst us today. Container makes visible the lives of those were chained, those who drowned and those who continue to be enslaved in new forms of economic servitude. The choice of the container, physical and symbolic, showcases how people have become commodities, which is the very definition of slavery: people as products.
ETERNELLE NOTRE-DAME 5G
Éternelle Notre-Dame is a technological challenge which allows the public to dive into the heart of the history of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral and its treasures, from its construction in the Middle Ages through to the current restoration project. A journey through time and space, allowing everyone to discover a truly iconic monument through an authentic experience where all visitors play their part in the building’s restoration. Notre-Dame de Paris reopens its doors thanks to Éternelle Notre-Dame, a project which celebrates and breathes life back into the cathedral, thanks to Orange Group.
SPACE EXPLORERS: SPACEWALKERS
Extended version of the world’s first-ever spacewalk captured in cinematic VR outside the International Space Station, featuring behind the scenes action deploying and maneuvering the VR camera. By Felix & Paul Studios.
https://www.luxfilmfest.lu/en/
Out-Of-Competition
A COLÔNIA LUXEMBURGUESA
A Colônia Luxemburguesa unveils a century of steel-framed migration between Luxembourg and Brazil. This transmedia documentary delves into intersecting stories from different angles and across different platforms – an interactive and participatory experience to draw a multifaceted portrait of a curious Colônia forged by steel.
Starting on 19 March, take the VR Cinema at home with VR TO GO! After a successful launch in 2021, the Pavilion’s “VR TO GO” solution offers rental VR headsets to allow visitors to extend the festival experience. Based on the model developed by PHI, the Pavilion’s trusted partner in Montréal, the headsets available “To Go” will screen award-winning films from the VR cinema, which audiences can enjoy in their own time, from the comfort of their own home.
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March, 2: VR Day for pro (with free registration)
The 5th edition of the Pavilion’s VR Day will once again bring together international and national experts to discuss current distribution models, the growing importance of utilizing the powers of XR and immersive technology for social impact and awareness, and the rise of large-scale collective location-based experiences. This year features a special panel focusing on Luxembourg’s efforts to grow the industry by exploring its role as a co-producer.
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- Words from the artists and creators of the works exhibited at the VR 2023 Pavilion: creation process, financing, business models, potential and distribution issues.
- Artistic sensibilities and social impact: Given the diversity and increasing accessibility of immersive technologies and experiences, how can XR promote new artistic voices? Is it really – as predicted almost 10 years ago – a way to highlight pressing issues and create public impact? How do we reconcile these goals with the realities of today’s marketplace?
- Large-scale collective experiences – state of play: Field report: What is the appetite of audiences and venues for large-scale in-situ experiences in these post-pandemic times? Is the model bearing fruit?
- In conversation with Bertrand Mandico – his background, his work and how VR is now part of his projects.
- Discover VRrOOm – the European social XR platform dedicated to live performances and shows.
- WIP – We highlight the impact of Luxembourg’s participation in four ongoing international XR co-productions: exclusive insights, progress and broadcast prospects.
- The Role of Venues – New Approaches: Various museums and cultural venues from BeNeLux and beyond talk about their work with artists, festivals, and peers in the sector, the characteristics of venues and the works that can fit them, and the market horizons for digital audiovisual arts.
Confirmed speakers and guests
Anna Abrahams (Programmer, EYE on Art Amsterdam), Julien Becker (Producer, Director, Skill Lab), Gwen François (Director, Producer, Skill Lab), Charlotte Bruneau (Multimedia and Documentary Filmmaker), Hélène Walland (Producer, Wild Fang Films), An Oost (Producer, Cassette for Timescapes), Fernand de Amorin (Executive Producer, Tarantula Luxembourg), Bertrand Mandico (Filmmaker, Experimental Artist), Gilles Chanial (Producer, Les Films Fauves), Katayoun Dibamehr (Producer, Floréal Films), Mathieu Pradat (Director, The Roaming, Producer, La Prairie Productions), Glen Neath (Artistic Director Darkfield, Eternal), Craig Quintero (Director, All that Remains), Oriane Hurard (Producer, Atlas V, Missing Pictures), Joanna Rieussec (Distributor, Adrien M & Claire B, Acqua Alta), Pedro Harres (Director, From the Main Square), Fabien Barati (Co-Founder and CEO of Emissive, Éternelle Notre-Dame), Blanca Li (Choreographer, Dancer, Film Director), Dan Tucker (Digital Curator and Producer), Nicolas Blies & Stéphane Hueber-Blies (Filmmakers, Blies Brothers), Bettina Steinbrügge (Director, Mudam Luxembourg), Anna Loporcaro (Artistic Director, KANAL-Centre Pompidou Bruxelles), Louis Cacciottolo (CEO, VRROOM), Ulrich Schrauth (Creative Director, VR HAM), Boyd van Hoeij (Programmer, Cinémathèque de la Ville de Luxembourg), Masa Spaan (Manager, Head of Programming, de Doelen), Antoine Cayrol (CEO, Atlas V, On the Morning you Wake), François le Gall (Executive Producer, a_BAHN Co-Founder and Associate, Velvet Flare Studio), Chloé Jarry (CEO and Producer, Lucid Realities), Liz Rosenthal (Programmer Venice Immersive, Venice International Film Festival, Executive Producer, CreativeXR), Toby Coffey (Head of Digital Development, National Theatre London), Marion Guth (Co-Founder and Executive Producer, a_BAHN).
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