Venice VR Expanded accessible in the VR Lounge of cultural institutions

The works of Venice VR Expanded, the Virtual Reality section of the 77^th Venice International Film Festival (2-12 September 2020) of La Biennale di Venezia will be available for viewing online through physical VR Exhibitions set up in the following cultural institutions around the world:

• China Academy of Art - Sandbox Immersive Festival, Hangzhou
• Comédie de Genève, Geneva
• Design Center Flacon, Moscow
• Espace CENTQUATRE-PARIS – Diversion cinema, Paris
• ESPRONCEDA - Institute of Art & Culture, Barcelona
• Fondazione di Venezia - M9 – Museo del ‘900, Venice Mestre
• HTC Corporation - VIVE ORIGINALS, Taiwan
• INVR. SPACE, in partnership with VRBB and supported by Medienbord, Berlin
• Laboratorio Aperto di Modena, ex Centrale AEM, Modena
• Laboratorio Aperto di Piacenza, ex Chiesa del Carmine, Piacenza
• Nikolaj Kunsthal, Copenhagen
• PHI Center, Montréal
• Portland Art Museum & Northwest Film Center, Portland
• Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam
  Koç University KARMA Lab in partnership with Soho House Istanbul, Istanbul

These institutions, which make up the Venice VR Expanded Satellite network, will make it possible for audiences who do not own the VR equipment necessary to view the works online, to enjoy the experience of the 44 immersive projects of Venice VR Expanded, from 24 different countries, at physical locations, which will be equipped with the required technology. Audiences will access the Venice VR programme by booking directly with each venue.

For the entire duration of the 77th Venice Film Festival (2-12 September), each of these locations will create a VR Exhibition open to the public and equipped with VR headsets, in which spectators can explore the 31 immersive projects of Venice VR Expanded in Competition, the nine projects Out of Competition – Best of VR and the four projects developed during the fourth and previous editions of the Biennale College Cinema – VR.

As previously announced, the Virtual Reality works in this edition of the Venice Film Festival will not be shown on the Venetian island of Lazzaretto Vecchio, but will be fully available online, thanks to an innovative combination of digital platforms made in partnership with HTC VIVEPORT, Facebook’s Oculus, VRChat and VRrOOm.

The accredited viewers of the Venice Film Festival will have access to all the titles in the online programme. There will also be a special VR accreditation.
All the works in the selection are restricted to viewers ages 14 and above.

The members of the international Jury for Venice VR Expanded:

• Celine Tricart – president (USA), director and screenwriter, an expert in Virtual Reality and 3D
• Asif Kapadia (Great Britain), director of films and documentaries, winner of an Academy Award for Amy
• Hideo Kojima (Japan), author of some of the best-selling videogames, including the Metal Gear series, considered the father of the stealth genre.

The Venice Virtual Reality Jury will award the following prizes: Grand Jury Prize for Best VR Immersive Work, Best VR Immersive User Experience and Best VR Immersive Story.