Venice: Margot Robbie & David Bowie Projects Among Immersive Lineup 

The Venice Film Festival’s immersive sidebar celebrates its 10th anniversary this year with a selection of projects, including titles featuring contributions by high-profile names such as Margot Robbie and Omar Sy. 

Overall, Venice Immersive will present 68 projects from 26 countries, of which 30 will play in competition, and 35 will be out of competition. Among these are titles such as Nevatars, directed by Andy Serkis and voiced by Daisy Ridley and Kathleen Turner, and Galapagos: The Last Eden, directed by Anthony Geffen and voiced by Margot Robbie. Scroll down for the full lineup. 

Other high-profile projects in the Venice Immersive sidebar include Artou, directed by Mauritanian director Abderrahmane Sissako, and voiced by French actor Omar Sy, who is also one of the producers;  Solwata, a documentary about climate refugees voiced by Mark Ruffalo; and Bowie: Unseen Unheard, an immersive audio visual work created from rare and never seen photos of David Bowie shot by his official photographer Denis O’Regan on the 10th anniversary of his death.

Paul Raphaël, the Emmy-winning artist and co-founder of Felix & Paul Studios, will serve as the president of the Venice Immersive jury. He will be joined by Iranian filmmaker Négar Motevalymeidanshah and Belgian director and writer Kate Voet. The Immersive Jury hands out the following prizes: Venice Immersive Grand Prize, Venice Immersive Special Jury Prize, and Venice Immersive Achievement Prize. 

The Venice Immersive programme takes place on the island of Lazzaretto Vecchio, a short boat ride up from the Lido. The Venice Film Festival runs from September 2 to September 12. 

Check out the lineup below. 

VENICE IMMERSIVE

In Competition

AMSTERDAM 1652: THE HANDS OF THE CITY

by NIENKE HUITENGA-BROEREN

Netherlands, France / 37’ / virtual reality, installation

ANOKHYA: THE ORIGIN

by ANAND KISHORE

India/ 27’/ virtual reality

ARTOU

by ABDERRAHMANE SISSAKO

France, Mauritania, Luxembourg / 27’ / virtual reality

BACK TO THE EXPERIENCE

by JESSIEN HUANG

China / 40’/ virtual reality, world

BEING IN YOU

by MICHAŁ STANKIEWICZ

Poland/ 18’/ virtual reality, installation

BOWIE: UNSEEN UNHEARD

by DENIS O’REGAN, NICK RYAN

UK/ 25’ / immersive installation

DISNEYNATURE’S WOLF: AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

by JEFF WILSON

UK, USA, Canada/ 20’/ immersive film

EMPIRE AT SEA

by PETER FLAHERTY

USA/ 22’ / installation, mixed reality

EVEREST: THE FIRST ASCENT

by JEAN DELLAC, BENJAMIN AURICHE

France/ 37’ / installation, virtual reality

EYES OF SHAME (GÉDOS AKYS)

by TOMAS TAMOŠAITIS

Lithuania, France, Croatia / 40’ / virtual reality

FINDING FRIDA

by HILDE K. KJØS

Norway, Netherlands / 41’ / virtual reality, installation

GALAPAGOS: THE LAST EDEN

by ANTHONY GEFFEN

UK/ 60’/ XR glasses, installation

HONEYBOYS

by TIBOR DE JONG

Netherlands, Belgium / 36’ / virtual reality

NEL BLU

by FINS

USA/ 60’/ virtual reality, world

NEVATARS

by ANDY SERKIS, JOSH YOUSSEF

UK, USA, Argentina / 31’ / XR glasses, installation

NOTHING TO SEE HERE

by CELINE DAEMEN

Netherlands/ 8’/ installation

NOX

by RIO NAKADA

Japan/ 20’/ virtual reality, installation

OCTOPOCALYPSE

by MAX SACKER, ARITE SZADKOWSKI

Germany/ 20’/ immersive installation

ÔL (HAUNTS)

by LUCY HAMMOND, TOMOS CHETWODE-BARTON

UK/ 15’/ virtual reality

OUT OF THE ASHES

by RORY MITCHELL, NONNY DE LA PEÑA

USA/ 26’/ virtual reality, installation

OUTRENOIR

by GORDON

France/ 12’ / virtual reality

RAJ’IN (WE SHALL RETURN)

by FAIZ ABU RMELEH, KEREN MANOR

Germany, Palestine / 24’/ virtual reality

SHIFTING CONNECTIONS

by TUNG-YEN CHOU

Taipei/ 12’/ mixed reality, installation

SMITHSONIAN STARSTRUCK: AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

by ELLIOTT MIZROCH

USA, UK/ 38’/ virtual reality, installation

SOLWATA

by FELIX GAEDTKE, GAYATRI PARAMESWARAN

USA, Germany, Solomon Islands/ 25’/ installation, mixed reality

SUNSET MOTEL

by GILLES JOBIN

Switzerland, France/ 20’/ virtual reality

THE PIGEON RING

by YUQI ZHANG

China/ 35’/ virtual reality, installation

TOMORI

by MISA HARU

Japan/ 20’/ mixed reality, installation

ULRICA

by HONGBO CAI

USA, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia/ 20’/ immersive installation

YESTERDAY MAYBE

by MATTHIEU VAN EECKHOUT

France/ 16’/ virtual reality

Out of Competition

(international selection of the best works that have been released or premiered elsewhere since the last edition of the Venice International Film Festival)

Best of Experiences

CRAFTING CRIMES

by CHLOÉ ROCHEREUIL

France, USA / 20’ / virtual reality

HOTEL INFINITY

by WILLIAM CHYR

USA/ 120’/ virtual reality

IN 36,000 WAYS

by KARIM BEN KHELIFA

Germany/ 3’/ immersive installation

LITTLE NIGHTMARES VR: ALTERED ECHOES

by LUCAS ROUSSEL

France/ 240’/ virtual reality

OF WOMAN BORN

by NALINI MALANI

India/ 20’/ immersive installation

SPOMYNY

by SOPHIA BULGAKOVA

Netherlands, Ukraine/ 20’/ immersive installation

SPYMASTER

by JEREMY MOIRANO

France/ 240’/ virtual reality

THE AMUSEMENT

by EIKE LANGBEHN, MARC BARNES

Germany, France/ 180’ / virtual reality

VOOOOOO—PEEEEEE—

by JIYUN PARK, HYEUNJOO WOO

South Korea/ 20’/ virtual reality, haptics

Best of Worlds

Biennale College Cinema – Immersive – Out of Competition

DESERT PALMS

by TRISTAN SENIUK, JOHN GERARD

USA/ 32’/ immersive film

Supported by the grant BCC Immersive 10th edition (2025/2026)

LIBRARY OF DREAMS

by ZHENYA RZHEZNIKOVA

Israel, Germany/ 25’ / virtual reality

Developed during BCC immersive 8^th edition (2023-2024)

THE WHITE SABOTEUR

by BARTHELEMY ANTOINE-LOEFF, HUGO ARCIER

France, Germany / 15’ / virtual reality, installation

Developed during BCC Immersive 7^th edition (2022-2023)