The Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes and Marché du Film) has opened its XR division in May. The event will showcase the top immersive art and experiences across the sector.
Cannes Next will kick off its immersive part of the festival with numerous competitions, marketplaces, and activities linked to artificial intelligence.
One of the top exhibitions there will include a global 18 May premiere of world-renowned street artist Banksy’s VR experience.
It will also host a screening for VFC’s filmmaking project, combining traditional techniques and biofeedback audio. A subsequent conference on the immersive experience will take place shortly after.
The event will also showcase live events with Film Soho’s International Village. Attendees can visit the virtual production studio to view the demos available.
Multiple panel talks, discussions, and conferences will also explore ongoing themes linked to emerging technologies. Global thought leaders will participate in conversations on Web3, the Metaverse, generative AI, and others.
Finally, the event is hosting Animation Day, where people can commemorate the achievements of animation specialists across the industry.
Banksy VR Experience and War in Ukraine
One of the main themes of the event is the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. To focus on the subject, Cannes Next, ATM Virtual, and Aggressive teamed up to premiere its MURALS. The event will debut from 19 to 24 May at the Palais des Festival’s MURALS Immersive Studio.
The immersive experience will showcase 180-degree visual experiences with state-of-the-art 3D scanning solutions. The artwork will feature scans of war-torn regions across Ukraine, which feature creations from Bristolian street artist icon Banksy.
Don’t miss the world premiere of #MURALS, presented by #CannesNext #ATMvirtual @aggressivetv! Experience the breathtaking and immersive 180-degree visual experience of Banksy’s artwork in war-torn Ukraine. 🇺🇦 Limited tickets available. Book now! ➡️ https://t.co/eWJSY6FJEJ pic.twitter.com/TyUdZGH7K3
— Marché du Film (@mdf_cannes) May 13, 2023
In 2002, the world-acclaimed artist painted his murals across Ukraine, many of which now lay in devastated regions of the country. Cities featured in his artworks include Maidan, Irpin, Hostomel, Horenka, and others.
Artists featured in the exhibition stated that the project was their “letter to today’s generation of Ukrainians” and others to “remember everything” about the war.
Cannes XR 2022 Winners
At last year’s Cannes XR exhibition, the organisation partnered with VeeR to evaluate roughly 200 submitted virtual reality (VR) projects. Many cover three and six degrees of flight (3DoF/ 6DoF) art projects across animation, documentaries, interactive art, and gaming.
Judges have chosen 18 finalists from the queue of nominees competing for Best VR Story and Best VR Interactive Experience.
Some of the top attendees included Award-Winning Actress, Director, Producer, and Former Cannes Festival juror, Zhang Ziyi. Hannah Minghella, President of Motion Pictures and Bad Robot, also joined the panel of jurors. Additional members that helped evaluate the awards included,
- Michel Reilhac, Independent Immersive Content Creator
- Vicki Dobbs Beck, Vice-President of Immersive Content Innovation, ILMxLAB
- Kari Skogland, Chief Executive, Mad Rabbit
- Doug Chiang, Vice President and Executive Creative Director, Lucasfilm
Jurors presented two nominees with the award, including British artist Alex Honnold, the creator of The Soloist VR. His groundbreaking piece explores the sport of extreme climbing, captured in high-fidelity, 360-degree immersive video footage, earning him the VeeR Future Award for Best VR Story.
Glimpse also won the VeeR Future Award for Best VR Interactive Experience. The story, directed by Benjamin Cleary and Michael O’Conner, embraces the pain of a breakup told in VR art.
Comments from Former Cannes XR Judges
Guillaume Esmiol, Co-Executive Director, Cannes Film Festival, thanked VeeR at the Award Ceremony for organising virtual exhibitions at the event and its work on the VeeR Future Award.
He explained at the time,
“Cannes XR aims to support the XR community and create bridges between cinema and the XR industry for film professionals and creative artists. I want to thank all the artists and the creators for their participation and for letting us discover their wonderful artworks”
Jingshu Chen, Co-Founder, Veer, also congratulated the finalists of the awards ceremony. She said they represented “the top quality of immersive storytelling in VR.”
“It was brilliant that CannesXR took a step forward with us and established this very innovative way to exhibit VR works online and offline. During these three years, we’ve witnessed the rise of a new generation of immersive creators and artists. Each year the submissions get more sophisticated and keep pushing the boundaries of immersive storytelling. VR creative industry is young, and we strongly believe it’s full of potential”
Zhang Ziyi added that it was a privilege to join the Jury, stating,
“It was a unique experience to immerse myself in this new art form. Virtual reality allows us to step right into the narrative. I was able to interact with the characters, and, sometimes, I was part of the storytelling”
She concluded that the experience had “opened my eyes to the endless possibilities” XR technologies could offer to the filmmaking industry.
