Community:Venice Immersive

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Venice Immersive is the extended reality (XR) competitive section of the Venice International Film Festival, organised by La Biennale di Venezia.[1] VRChat has participated as a platform partner since 2022, with a dedicated VRChat Worlds Gallery featuring curated selections of virtual worlds presented to on-site festival visitors.[2] The festival takes place on Lazzaretto Vecchio, a historic island opposite the Lido di Venezia.[3]

Overview

The section was previously known as "Venice VR Expanded" and was renamed "Venice Immersive" in 2022 to reflect the broadening scope of immersive media beyond virtual reality.[1] It exhibits immersive work across a range of media, including virtual worlds.[4] Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac curated the programme.[2]

VRChat's involvement includes promotion and submission support for VRChat worlds, organised presentations of selected worlds to on-site attendees, which are run in parallel with the public festival dates. On-site staff assist attendees into VR, while community members guide tours through the selected worlds.[4] Mike Salmon, a VRChat community member known as Manglebird, has served as producer of the Worlds Gallery, scouting worlds and coordinating the tours across editions.[5][6]

Editions

2022

The 2022 edition was the first to carry the "Venice Immersive" name and the first to include a dedicated VRChat Worlds Gallery, presenting 30 virtual worlds.[2][7] Selected worlds were presented through curated world-hop tours lasting approximately 75 minutes each, with virtual docents guiding attendees and physical docents assisting participants on site.[2]

2023

The Worlds Gallery at the 80th Venice International Film Festival featured 24 worlds, including 23 from VRChat and one from EngageXR, as part of a programme totalling 43 immersive projects from 25 countries.[8][9]

2024

At the 81st Venice International Film Festival, approximately 20 VRChat worlds were selected for the Worlds Gallery, with three VRChat worlds also appearing in the main competition.[5][10] The Venice Immersive Grand Prize went to Ito Meikyū by Boris Labbé.[11]

2025

The 82nd Venice International Film Festival ran from 27 August to 6 September 2025.[4] The 2025 programme presented 69 projects from 27 countries: 30 works in competition and 34 out of competition. The out-of-competition strand included 23 VRChat worlds in the Best of: Worlds category, created by independent artists from around the world.[12][13]

A March 2025 developer update directed world creators to the VRChat FAQ for submission categories, including In Competition and Best of: Worlds.[14] During the festival window, VRChat used Bluesky to promote in-client access to Venice Immersive programming, to highlight The Reality of Hope and a related in-world exhibit, and to promote a developer stream that included hopping through Venice Immersive experiences.[15]

Jury and awards

The Venice Immersive jury for 2025 consisted of Eliza McNitt (president), Gwenael François, and Boris Labbé.[16] McNitt is an American filmmaker known for the VR series Spheres; Labbé won the Venice Immersive Grand Prize in 2024 for Ito Meikyū.[16][11]

The jury awarded three prizes from the main competition programme:[17][18]

  • Grand Prize for Best Immersive Experience — The Clouds Are 2000 Metres Up by Singing Chen, a free-roaming VR experience adapted from a short story by Taiwanese author Wu Ming-Yi.
  • Special Jury Prize — Less Than 5 Gr of Saffron by Négar Motevalymeidanshah, a VR experience following an Iranian immigrant in Berlin.
  • Achievement Award — A Long Goodbye by Kate Voet and Victor Maes, an animated interactive VR installation about a pianist with dementia.

Official resources

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Venice Immersive 2022 comes to VRChat" on Mixed. 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "#1119: Venice Immersive Preview with Co-Curators + Expanded VRChat World Gallery Exhibition" on Voices of VR Podcast. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Venice Immersive at Lazzaretto Vecchio" on Visit Lido. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Venice Immersive 2025 - VRChat FAQ" on ask.vrchat.com. Dated March 2025. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "#1443: Venice Immersive Worlds Gallery Producer Mike Salmon on the 2024 Selection of VRChat Worlds" on Voices of VR Podcast. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  6. ↑ "#1141: Venice Immersive VRChat Worlds Gallery Producer Mike Salmon on Curating the Frontiers of DIY World Building" on Voices of VR Podcast. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Venice Immersive" on La Biennale di Venezia. 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Official 2023 Venice Immersive selection announced" on La Biennale di Venezia. 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Venice Immersive 2023: A Complete Line-Up" on XRMust. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Venice Immersive 2024 - VRChat FAQ" on ask.vrchat.com. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Ito Meikyū" on La Biennale di Venezia. 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Venice Immersive Selection and Competition announced" on La Biennale di Venezia. 2025. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Venice Immersive Announces 2025 Competition Line-Up" on UploadVR. Dated July 17, 2025. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Developer Update - March 27 2025" on ask.vrchat.com. Dated March 27, 2025. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
  15. ↑ "@vrchat.com" on Bluesky. Dated August 27 and 29, 2025. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Doug Liman XR Thriller 'Asteroid' Leads Venice Immersive Competition Lineup" on Variety. 2025. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  17. ↑ "New Standards in Storyliving: The Best of Venice Immersive" on AR Insider. Dated September 15, 2025. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  18. ↑ "The winners of the Venice Film Festival 2025" on Cinema Reporters. 2025. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
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