From Animation to Immersive Stories: How Richard Valk Builds International XR Collaborations

Mathieu G.

Meeting Dutch producer–director Richard Valk is a sharp way to read the Dutch landscape. Through Valk Productions, founded in the late 1990s, he has built a bridge between auteur animation, documentary and immersive work – and his trajectory captures how the Netherlands has become a small but very active hub for XR creation and co-production. […]

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XR Focus / Germany, a not-so-sleepy giant of immersive creation

Since the virtual reality resurgence, Germany has been among the top three European countries in terms of production support. With its highly regional dynamics, the country has “scaled up” its funding based on its experience in film and video games

“Having a strong digital ecosystem should encourage the local art scene to take an interest in it” – Ondřej Moravec (Art*VR Festival 2025)

Created in Prague in 2023, Art*VR has grown every year since. With new sections, new formats, and a consistently strong editorial focus, this event dedicated to immersive creation is increasingly making its mark—and gaining importance within the industry. We take

“Developing XR in Africa is a real labour of love” – Brian Afande (BlackRhino VR)

Africa remains a little-known continent when it comes to XR creation. And yet, if you take a close look, you’ll find artists who are passionate about the medium, initiatives to disseminate it and a few companies that were able to

“We want to prove there is some viability in the XR creative process” – Mads Damsbo, Mikkel Skov (MAKROPOL 1/2)

Producer of digital content since 2011, the Danish company Makropol has experimented on all media: LBE since 2014, VR film… On the occasion of the release of their latest productions (END OF NIGHT, ARTIFICIAL AWAKENING, SHADOW…), we met Mads Damsbo,

“ASTEROID is by far the most ambitious project of my career” – Doug Liman (30 Ninjas)

At the latest Venice Immersive event, Doug Liman presented his brand new project, ASTEROID, on the upcoming Samsung XR headset powered by Google’s AndroidXR OS. This marks a return to immersive media for the American director (Swingers, The Bourne Identity,

“I hope people will feel connected to our experiences, whether of Japanese tradition or more personal stories.” – Katsutoshi Machiba (Cinemaleap)

FEATHER in 2019 (Biennale College), BEAT in 2020, CLAP in 2021, TYPEMAN in 2022, SEN and SYUHASUU (FREQUENCY) in 2023… It’s hard to see a more regular schedule than Keisuke Itoh and the team at Cinemaleap, Japan’s leading XR studio,