Since 2019, the Cannes Marché du Film has shed light on VR and AR creation with conferences, panels, demonstrations and networking events organised in the Cannes XR space. Now, it’s an immersive competition directly led by the Cannes Film Festival (with support from the CNC) that will highlight the international artists developing new narrative experiences from 15-24 May.

Collective virtual reality installations, mixed reality experiences, video mapping and holograms: eight works will be locking horns. The selection will be accessible to festival-goers and people accredited with the Marché du Film in a 1,300 m² display at the Cineum (the Cannes La Bocca multiplex) and at the George Méliès Campus. The Prize for Best Immersive Work will be awarded during a dedicated closing ceremony. 

Six non-competitive works, exposing the links between immersive experience and cinema, complete the selection. Amongst the voices of the 14 selected works, we can notice those of Cate Blanchett, Tahar Rahim, Colin Farell, Lambert Wilson, Olivia Cooke, Jehnny Beth as well as Vimala Pons.

Also worth noting is that the Marché will continue, for its part, to explore the economic and technical dimension of the format, and that the city of Cannes will take advantage of the situation to announce the launch of the Cannes Immersive programme (sponsored by Jean-Michel Jarre, with support from the CNC) with the ambition of becoming a world hub dedicated to immersive creations and to the new artistic territory of Artificial Intelligence.

The selected works: 

Immersive Competition

En amour - Claire Bardainne, Adrien Mondot, Laurent Bardainne (France)
Production: Adrien M & Claire B, Ekleroshock Records

Evolver - Barnaby Steel, Ersin Han Ersin, Robin McNicholas (UK/France/USA)
Production: Marshmallow Laser Feast, Atlas V, Pressman Film, Dirty Films, Orange, Bia-Echo Foundation

Maya : naissance d’une super héroïne - Poulomi Basu, CJ Clarke (UK/France/USA)
Production: Just Another Production Company, Floréal, Meta VR for Good, France Télévisions, Francetv Storylab, Meta

Noire - Tania de Montaigne, Stéphane Foenkinos, Pierre-Alain Giraud (France/Taiwan)
Production: Novaya, Flash Forward Entertainment, Centre Pompidou

Telo I - Dorotea Saykaly, Emil Dam Seidel (Canada/Sweden/Denmark)
Production: Dorotea Saykaly, Emil Dam Seidel

The Roaming - Mathieu Pradat (France/Luxembourg/Canada)
Production: La prairie productions, Wild Fang Films, Normal Studio, Small

Traversing The Mist - Tung-Yen Chou (Taiwan)
Production: Very Theatre 

Out of Competition

Battlescar - Martin Allais, Nico Casavecchia (France/USA)
Production: Atlas V, Albyon, 1STAveMachine, ARTE France, Oculus, Ryot

Empereur - Marion Burger, Ilan J. Cohen (France/Germany)
Production: Atlas V, Reynard Films, France Télévisions

Gloomy Eyes - Fernando Maldonado, Jorge Tereso (Argentina/France/USA)
Production: Atlas V, 3dar, ARTE France, HTC, Ryot

Missing Pictures: Naomi Kawase - Clément Deneux (France/UK/Taiwan/Luxembourg/South Korea)
Production: Atlas V, ARTE France, BBC, PTS, Serendipity Films, Wild Fang Films, Giioii

Notes On Blindness - Arnaud Colinart, Amaury La Burthe, Peter Middleton, James Spinney (France/UK)
Production: Ex Nihilo, ARTE France, Archer’s Mark, Novelab

Spheres - Eliza Mcnitt (USA/France)
Production: Protozoa Pictures, City Lights, Crime of Curiosity, Atlas V