Explore 37 groundbreaking projects from 21 countries, 35 custom-made worlds, and five live events hosted in VRChat.
The Venice Film Festival is back with yet another selection of genre-defying VR projects from some of the most exciting creators in the field. This year event organizers are taking its Venice VR Expanded program to the next level with even more immersive offerings than previous festivals.
Open to attendees now until the 11th, attendees can explore a catalog of groundbreaking experiences in-person at the VR Gallery in the Palazzo del Casinò (Lido di Venezia), Sala Amici (reservations required).
Thanks to a partnership with HTC’s Viveport and Facebook’s Oculus,attendees can also tune in remotely via a PC VR or Oculus Quest headset and enjoy this years’ selection in VR. By logging into the popular VR social platform VRChat, festival-goers can explore a custom-made virtual event space where they can immerse themselves in this years’ offerings, chat with other visitors, and participate in a variety of live events.
Venice VR Expanded 2021 features 37 immersive projects in total:
- 23 projects in the “Competition” catergory (including 24 world premiers).
- 12 projects in the “Out of Competition – Best Of” category (VR work launched since the 2020 edition).
- 1 special event from the “Out of Competition” category.
- 1 project developed and financed during the fifth edition of the Biennale College Cinema – VR.
There’s no shortage of VR content to enjoy, from groundbreaking 360-degree films such as Space Explorers: An ISS Experience (Episodes 1 & 2) to visually captivating interactive experiences like Maskmaker and Goliath.
In addition to the above-mentioned projects, Venice VR Expanded has also introduced a new program called the Venice VRChat Worlds Gallery which is composed of 35 custom-made worlds designed specifically for VRChat. Of course, it wouldn’t be the Venice Film Festival without the parties.
This year event organizers have scheduled five live events that will be conducted exclusively in VR. This includes the opening and closing ceremonies, live musical acts, and guided mediation sessions. Organizers even teamed up with popular VRChat club worlds like “Shelter” to host in-VR dance parties.
Those interested in attending can purchase a ticket here. Accredited guests will have access to the entire selection of immersive content, including the “Meet the Creator” sessions and aforementioned live events. That being said, there’s still plenty to enjoy without spending a dime.
Anyone with a VRChat account can explore the Venice VR Expanded hub, a virtual town square developed by VRrOOm. Here you can sample a variety of the projects included as part of this years’ program and socialize with other festival-goers. You can also access a new avatar creator tool complete with new animations and wardrobe.
“We see it as part of our mission to try and spread the word and the experience about VR. It’s in our own interest in the community’s interest to try and initiate as many people as possible to great content. So the decision to make our world a fully public one is also for that reason,”said event orgnizaers while speaking to VRScout.
“VRChat is really about the community and everything is around worldworld-hopping hopping and moving from place to place. And we don’t want to be in a private space. The fact is, there are so many uses for VRChat. We really want to be a bridging point between all these different VR communities.”
Venice VR Expanded is open now until September 19th in VR. Visit here to learn more about ths years’ offerings.
Feature Image Credit: Venice VR Expanded
