28 Sep 2024 | Guest Writer
Ferryman Collective and Arrival.Space Co-Founders Meet at Venice Immersive
Women in AR/VR Virtual Reality Augmented Reality

La Biennale di Venezia

During the 81st Venice Film Festival happening at Lido di Venezia from August 28 to September 7, Venice Immersive was open in its 8th edition for the XR industry and the public to discover the world's most renowned Virtual Reality projects.

The magic of Venice Immersive is real as it is the only official competition for immersive content in an A-list festival and one of the biggest events dedicated to eXtended Reality and immersive experiences. The selection and program curated by Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac include overall 62 experiences of which 26 are world premieres in competition, 20 VRChat worlds outside of competition, 9 pieces in the Best Of section, and 7 projects from the Venice Biennale College.

Awards

This year's winners of Venice Immersive include "ITO MEIKYŪ" by Boris Labbé (Grand Prize), "IMPULSE: PLAYING WITH REALITY" by May Abdalla and Barry Gene Murphy (Achievement Prize), and "OTO's PLANET" by Gwanael François (Special Jury Prize).

Partial Group of XR Creators at the Venice Biennale.

The festival also has several Collateral Awards recognized by the Biennale, which are independently given by associations of film critics, clubs, cultural associations, and cinema professionals. Among these, the Fanheart3 award, now in its sixth edition, honored productions that resonate with fan audiences. Along with two movies recognized, "Wolves" and "Beetlejuice", the XR Fan Experience award went to  “Uncanny Alley: A New Day” by Ferryman Collective and Virtual Worlds Company , for its exceptional content, storytelling, and immersive dynamics. This year’s all-female jury was chaired by Cristina Saccon and included Sara Bezzetto, Agnese Pietrobon, Laura Casagrande, and Francesca Ranaldo.

You can find more information about the collateral awards for the festival here.

An Own Island for VR

During these ten days, the XR community and industry leaders from around the globe are meeting up at Lazaretto Vecchio, an old island from the 15th century located next to Lido di Venezia that served as a lazaret during plague and leprosy epidemics. A boat shuttle is running all day long back and forth from Lido di Venezia.

What Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac have created and brought to life is extraordinary — putting up the infrastructure and technical setup on this unmanned island in 2017 for the first time and since then turning it into a home every year for XR creators to present their projects to the world is quite an undertaking and remarkable.

Entry Lazaretto Vecchio - VR Island

After Lisa had been there in person in 2018 and 2019, during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 online at the Venice VR Expanded edition in VRChat, and now years later back in real life, "it was again amazing to see how much this festival is growing, supporting, and making XR creators and their projects accessible to a broader public.” The creativity, the way of pushing technology, and the experience for audiences to enter immersive story worlds is impressive. "However, there are still serious conversations about XR distribution and how creatives can make a proper living out of this", she noted.

The immersive experiences are embedded in a well-designed exhibition and showcase area while there are multiple program points to attend such as the Venice Production Bridge events, daily "Meet the Creator" panels, legendary Spritz happy hours of course, and prestigious red carpet events at the Palazzo del Cinema where the most important traditional film screenings, opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the awards ceremony, are held.

Having a variety of immersive experiences including interactive live participatory multi-user or passive single-user experiences, from animation to 360° and volumetric content, shows the broad scope of immersive Virtual and Mixed Reality content production and creation from a creative and technological standpoint.

The gallery entrance of single-player VR experiences.

Exhibition Experience

Ferryman Collective, a talented group specializing in live virtual reality theater, has had the privilege of attending the festival in 2021 just as the world was emerging from the pandemic and again on the island in 2022 and this year, 2024. Showcasing a piece at the Biennale is a truly special experience offering the chance to meet other creators and gather with XR professionals.

“The festival is incredibly supportive of its creators, providing a wonderful space to exhibit, often with equipment and some housing included. A vaporetto pass is provided, so staying on Venice includes a commute across the water to Lido, a great way to start the day” says Deirdre. The atmosphere feels like a gallery perfectly designed to showcase artistic works. The tech crew is top-notch, ensuring a cool air-conditioned environment away from the hot Venice late summer sun.

There are also garden parties and dedicated meeting spaces fostering a sense of community and collaboration. The ‘Meet the Creator’ sessions broadcast on the Biennale YouTube channel offer a fantastic opportunity to share your creative process and learn about others.

Audience experiencing Uncanny Alley: A New Day in the Worlds Competition.

Voices of VR Podcast

Kent Bye covered the Venice Immersive program and conducted 38 creator interviews during the festival for the Voices of VR podcast and jointly created an unofficial Venice Immersive Audience Favorites Survey together with XR Must. Deep dive into it here: https://voicesofvr.com/

During his interviews at Venice, he celebrated his birthday, and creators delighted him with little gifts throughout the day. Including a spirited rendition of “Happy Birthday to You” by Ferryman Collective joined by everyone near the entrance.

Rick Treweek, Stephen Butchko, and Christopher Lane Davis all being interviewed by Kent Bye.

Navigating Venice

When staying in Venice directly, the Vaporetto, a public waterbus, is the way to go around the city and to get to the Lido. When crossing main tourist attractions and places such as San Marco, this can take about 45 minutes or more if the queues are long. To avoid the San Marco craziness, a calmer area to stay and closer to Lido di Venezia is the area around Giardini della Biennale or even Cavallino-Treporti near Punta Sabbioni.

The lively XRCrowd WhatsApp groups, initiated in 2018 by Andrey Lunev (Startup Wise Guys) and Michael Barngrover (XR4Europe), mostly cover all the insights and community discourse around the festival from transport to accommodations, events and meetups, ticket exchanges, and all types of tips & tricks to navigate the festival.

Stephen Butchko of Ferryman Collective commuting to Lido on the Vaporetto.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Venice Immersive at the Venice Film Festival stands as a major gathering for XR professionals and creators, renowned globally for exhibiting groundbreaking and superior quality XR experiences. It serves as a vibrant meeting ground for collaborations, fostering relationships, and discovering new and exciting works. This festival not only raises visibility for XR creators but also offers a beautifully curated environment to enjoy and be inspired by the latest advancements in immersive storytelling.

Enter the unofficial Venice Immersive Arrival.Space here to explore more content and engage with others: https://live.arrival.space/veniceimmersive

Unofficial Venice Immersive Space

About the Guest Authors

Lisa Maria Egger began as a performance artist in a theatre in 2004, then worked as an art reporter and presenter in the TV industry. In 2009, she became a production manager and film producer for GO! Pictures and later co-founded "GO! Pictures KG" and its XR studio label "GO!insideVR" together with director Gero A.E. Egger in 2017. They specialized in narrative VR/360° experiences and immersive storytelling. In the same year, Lisa produced "Remain at Home," which premiered in Paris at the 360° Film Festival and was presented at major film festivals worldwide. Lisa has since produced multiple social XR live music, art, and theatre events. She is also a speaker, mentor, active in R&D of 6DoF media, and a consultant for the European Commission in the field of film, XR, and media innovation. She promotes a diverse, inclusive, and accessible future for immersive technology. In 2023, Lisa Maria Egger co-founded Arrival.Space, a fully web-based landing space and interoperable social 3D network that provides tools, access, and discovery for the immersive web and its creators. Learn more

Lisa’s personal Arrival.Space
LinkedIn
arrival.space

Deirdre V. Lyons is a Los Angeles producer, director, and performer. She is a co-founder of Ferryman Collective, creating live theatre in VR starting with PARA Krampusnacht, the award-winning Welcome to Respite, the co-creator of Gumball Dreams, named Best Experience of 2022 and Creator of the Year by XR Must. She was a 2023 SXSW mentor, included in the 2021 list of Top 100 Original Voices in XR, honored with the 2023 Innovation Award from XR Women, and included in Volume 2 of the Global Top 100 Women of the Future in Emerging Tech produced by Women of the Future. She is a sought-after speaker and a member of Television Academy and the Producers Guild of America. Learn more


Lisa Maria Egger and Deirdre V. Lyons at Venice Immersive

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© Photos by Deirdre V. Lyons and Lisa Maria Egger

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