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The Venice Film Festival has unveiled the lineup of projects for Venice Immersive, the Extended Reality (Xr) section of the event. The program, which will include 63 projects from 25 countries, takes place on the island of Lazzaretto Vecchio from Aug. 29 to Sept. 7.

There are 26 projects in Competition, including 19 world premieres and seven international premieres.

There are 30 projects playing Out of Competition, including the best works that have been released or premiered elsewhere since the last edition of the Venice Film Festival; this section is divided into: Best of Experiences (10 projects), and Best of Worlds (20 projects), created by independent artists on the VRChat social platform, an ecosystem of virtual worlds presented in guided tours.

There are seven projects developed during the Biennale College Cinema – Immersive: one project produced thanks to the grant from this year’s eighth edition, six projects developed within the international workshop of the eighth, seventh, sixth and fifth editions.

Adam Elliot’s oddball Aussie feature Memoir of a Snail has won the Cristal award for best feature film at the 2024 Annecy Film Festival, the world’s leading international animation fest.

The dark dramedy, about a lonely, snail-obsessed hoarder — voiced by Succession star Sarah Snook — recounting her life story to one of her beloved gastropods, is Elliot’s first feature since 2009’s Mary and Max, which also won the top honor at Annecy. An impressive group of Australian A-listers, including Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jacki Weaver, Eric Bana and Nick Cave provide supporting voice work. IFC Films picked up North American rights to Memoir of a Snail ahead of the festival.

Flow, a drama from Latvian animator Gints Zilbalodis (Away), which follows a cat that survives a world-destroying deluge on a boat with a collection of other animals, won this year’s jury award and audience prize, voted on by Annecy attendees.

The Mediterrane Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for its second edition (June 22-30), with Cannes premiere The Count Of Monte Cristo set to open the event.

Scroll down for the full line-up

Directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière, the film is among seven titles in the out of competition strand, which also includes Jane Schoenbrun’s Sundance title I Saw The TV Glow and Tarsem Singh’s Dear Jassi.

The 15-strong competition section features Cannes competition titles Kinds Of Kindness and The Substance, and Berlin premiere The Strangers case starring Omar Sy,

Seven films compete in the environment-themed Mare Nostrum section,...

Malta’s Mediterrane Film Festival has set the full competition and industry lineup for its second edition, which runs June 22 to 30 in the country’s capital, Valletta.

The programme includes 15 films in competition, seven out-of-competition, and seven films competing in the environment-themed Mare Nostrum section, topped up by 14 immersive projects.

Select competition titles include Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest Kinds of Kindness, Coralie Fargeat’s body horror The Substance, and The Damned by Italian filmmaker Roberto Minvervini. All three films debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Scroll down to see the full lineup. Deadpool and Terminator: Dark Fate director Tim Miller will serve on the competition jury.

The festival has also set its industry lineup, featuring a series of masterclass sessions. Speakers include editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis, production designer Nathan Crowley, casting director Margery Simkin, and composer Simon Franglen...

The 2024 Cannes Film Festival lineup is expanding thanks to the newly unveiled Immersive competition.

The inaugural offering includes location-based virtual reality and mixed reality experiences, projection mapping, and holographic works. Actors such as Colin Farrell (“Gloomy Eyes”), Olivia Cooke (“Emperor”), Jessica Chastain, Millie Bobby Brown, and Patti Smith (“Spheres”) lend their respective voices to the projects created with cutting-edge technology.

The festival will host eight projects as part of the Immersive Competition, ushering in a new era of storytelling while “challenging convention, embracing new technologies, and above all celebrating new artists as well as old,” per the official press statement.

Outside of the competition, six non-competitive works will be featured at the exhibition exploring the evolution of the medium and drawing parallels between virtual reality, virtual production, cinema, and collective storytelling.

The Best Immersive Work Award will be presented by the President of the Jury at the Closing Ceremony on...

Cannes Film Festival (May 15-24) has unveiled the eight titles for its inaugural immersive competition, including projects featuring Cate Blanchett, Millie Bobby Brown, Patti Smith, Colin Farrell and Jessica Chastain.

The competition includes location-based virtual reality and mixed reality experiences, as well as projection mapping and holographic works.

Evolver is voiced by Blanchett, and has previously played at Tribeca and Geneva International Film Festiva. It is helmed by Barnaby Steel, Ersin Han Ersin and Robin McNicholas of London-based art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast. Dirty Films is also a production company, and Coco Francini, Blanchett, and Andrew Upton are executive producers on the virtual reality project,...

The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the inaugural lineup for its Immersive Competition section, the first-ever selection of augmented and virtual reality works to screen at the austere French film fest.

The 8 competition titles and 6 out-of-competition screenings include works featuring such talents as Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, Millie Bobby Brown, and Tahar Rahim. The lineup highlights cutting-edge VR and Ar techniques and includes location-based virtual reality, mixed reality experiences, projection mapping, and holographic works.

Introducing the new immersive section, Cannes said it hoped to “spotlight the next generation of international artists who are redefining storytelling and inventing new narrative-driven experiences that move beyond the traditional two-dimensional cinema screen.” The section is being organized with support from the French national film board, the Cnc. The immersive works will be presented at an exhibition space in the Cannes Cineum complex on the outskirts of the city and at the campus of Cannes’s Georges Méliès film school.

The Cannes Film Festival has announced the selections for its Immersive lineup, including projects voiced by stars like Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell and Jessica Chastain.

According to a press release, the Immersive competition includes “collective location-based virtual reality and mixed reality experiences, and projection mapping and holographic works. These carefully selected immersive works showcase the cutting edge of this new era in storytelling, challenging convention, embracing new technologies, and above all celebrating new artists as well as old.”

The eight projects in competition include the French premiere of “Evolver,” voiced by Blanchett, and the European premiere of “Maya: The Birth of a Superhero,” which counts “Bridgerton” star Charithra Chandran among its voice cast.

The out-of-competition lineup comprises six projects, including “Emperor” with “House of the Dragon” star Olivia Cooke; “Gloomy Eyes,” the English version of which is voiced by Farrell; and Eliza McNitt’s “Spheres” with Chastain, Millie Bobby Brown and Patti Smith.

For more on Venice's standout films, read our dispatch coverage: "Biopics Reloaded" and "Hitmen, A.I., and Dangerous Women."Poor Things.Main Competition(Jury: Damien Chazelle (chair), Saleh Bakri, Jane Campion, Mia Hansen-Løve, Gabriele Mainetti, Martin McDonagh, Santiago Mitre, Laura Poitras, and Shu Qi)Golden Lion: Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos)Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize: Evil Does Not Exist (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)Silver Lion Best Director: Matteo Garrone (Io Capitano)Special Jury Prize: Green Border (Agnieszka Holland)Best Screenplay: Pablo Larraín and Guillermo Calderón (El Conde)Best Actress: Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla)Best Actor: Peter Sarsgaard (Memory)Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress: Seydou Sarr (Io Capitano)Explanation For Everything.HORIZONSJury: Jonas Carpignano (chair), Kaouther Ben Hania, Kahlil Joseph, Jean-Paul Salomé, and Tricia Truttle)Best Film: Explanation For Everything (Gábor Reisz)Best Director: Mika Gustafson (Paradise Is Burning)Special Jury Prize: Una Sterminata Domenica (Alain Parroni)Best Actress:...

With Venice Film Festival wrapping up after quite an epic year, Damien Chazelle’s jury handed out their awards, giving the top prize to Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, led by La La Land star Emma Stone. Elsewhere, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Matteo Garrone, Priscilla‘s Cailee Spaeny, and Memory‘s Peter Sarsgaard picked up top prizes.

Check out the list below courtesy of Cineuropa.

Competition

Golden Lion for Best Film

Poor Things – Yorgos Lanthimos (Ireland/UK/USA)

Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize

Evil Does Not Exist – Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Japan)

Silver Lion – Award for Best Director

Matteo Garrone – Me Captain (Italy/Belgium)

Volpi Cup for Best Actress

Cailee Spaeny – Priscilla (USA/Italy)

Volpi Cup for Best Actor

Peter Sarsgaard – Memory (Mexico/USA)

Award for Best Screenplay

Guillermo Calderón, Pablo Larraín – El conde (Chile)

Special Jury Prize

Green Border – Agnieszka Holland (Poland/France/Czech Republic/Belgium)

Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Talent

Seydou Sarr...

As many predicted, the 80th annual Venice Film Festival bestowed its top prize, the Golden Lion, to Yorgos Lanthimos’ rapturously received “Poor Things.” The win furthers the film’s increasing Oscar buzz, powered by a performance from star Emma Stone that could bring her a second Oscar for Best Actress. The film will open in limited release from Searchlight on Dec. 8, then slowly roll out nationwide.

However, the leading actress prize went to Cailee Spaeny for her work in Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla,” an intimate look at Priscilla Presley’s early courtship with Elvis Presley. (The film opens in theaters on Nov. 3.) Peter Sarsgaard won leading actor honors for his turn as a dementia-afflicted widower in Michel Franco’s “Memory,” opposite Jessica Chastain.

Matteo Garrone’s immigrant drama “Me Captain” captured two major awards, including the best director prize and the Marcello Mastroianni Young Actor/Actress Award for breakout star Seydou Sarr.

The 2023 Venice Film Festival persevered despite a dimmed Hollywood presence, with much of the onscreen talent sitting this year’s Lido event out due to the strikes. There in Italy, however, were directors like Michael Mann, David Fincher, Yorgos Lanthimos, Ava DuVernay, Wes Anderson, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Richard Linklater, Sofia Coppola, and even Woody Allen to present their latest films and do the talking on behalf of their sidelined actors.

Saturday at the Sala Grande, the jury headed up by president Damien Chazelle revealed the winners of the 2023 competition awards. Jurors including Martin McDonagh, Jane Campion, and Mia Hansen-Løve saw 23 movies over the last week and a half, including Lanthimos’ raved-about “Poor Things,” Coppola’s well-liked “Priscilla,” Bertrand Bonello’s daring “The Beast,” Fincher’s assassin thriller “The Killer,” Bradley Cooper’s Oscar hopeful “Maestro,” Mann’s gripping “Ferrari,” and more.

Word on the Lido was highest for eventual Golden Lion winner “Poor Things,...

The 80th Venice Film Festival handed out its awards and Yorgos Lanthimos has clinched the top prize with his latest feature Poor Things, starring Emma Stone. Scroll down for the winners list.

The Greek filmmaker’s latest, which also stars Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo, is based on Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel of the same name and follows Stone as Bella Baxter, a creation of the brilliant and unorthodox scientist played by Dafoe in an echo of Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel Frankenstein. Ruffalo plays a slick and debauched lawyer.

Dedicating the award to his lead actress, Lanthimos said Poor Things wouldn’t exist “without Emma Stone.”

“This film is her in front and behind the camera,” he added.

Elsewhere, Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi took the Grand Jury Prize with Evil Does Not Exist, his follow-up to Drive My Car. Priscilla breakout Cailee Spaeny took the Best Actress prize...

The winners of the 2023 Venice Film Festival are being announced this evening (September 9).

The 80th Venice Film Festival comes to a close today with the awards ceremony, held at the Sala Grande in the Palazzo del Cinema.

Starting at 7pm Cet (6pm BST), viewers can watch the ceremony live in the video above; Screen will be updating this page with the winners as they are announced.

Scroll down for the latest winners

The ceremony will be hosted by Italian actress Caterina Murino, who also hosted the opening ceremony on August 30. A Competition jury led by Damien Chazelle will award eight prizes,...

Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, a fantastical feminist fable starring Emma Stone as a woman reanimated by a Frankenstein-style Victorian scientist (Willem Dafoe), has won the Golden Lion for best film at the 80th Venice International Film Festival.

The Hollywood Reporter critics praised the film — which includes a potentially career-defining performance by star Emma Stone as Isabella Baxter, the woman who struggles to understand the restrictive patriarchy of the world around her, and then proceeds to dismantle it.

In his acceptance speech, Lanthimos said it took a long time to make the movie, his first since 2018 Oscar winner The Favourite, “until the world, until our industry, was ready for this film.” He singled out Stone for praise.

“Above all, this film is the central character of Isabella Baxter, this incredible creature, and she wouldn’t exist without Emma Stone, another incredible creature. This film is her, in front and behind the camera.

The 80th Venice Film Festival has revealed its selection of projects for Venice Immersive, the Xr-Extended Reality section of the festival, which runs Aug. 30 – Sept. 9. The program will include VR experience “Wallace & Gromit in the Grand Getaway” and a Fatboy Slim project.

Venice Immersive is devoted to immersive media and includes all Xr means of creative expression: 360° videos and Xr works of any length, including installations and virtual worlds. The program, which will take place on the island of Lazzaretto Vecchio, will present 44 projects from 25 countries, and 24 works in the Worlds Gallery section. It will comprise:

28 projects in Competition 10 projects Out of Competition – Best of Venice Immersive. International selection of the best works that have been released or premiered elsewhere since the last edition of the Venice Film Festival. Six projects developed during the Biennale College Cinema – VR: One project produced thanks to the grant from the seventh edition, and...

Venice Immersive is the Xr - Extended Reality strand of Venice International Film Festival

Venice Immersive, the Xr – Extended Reality strand of the Venice International Film Festival (August 30-September 9) has unveiled its competition selection for 2023.

The 28 projects include Wallace & Gromit In The Grand Getaway based on the stop-motion comedy franchise. It is directed by Finbar Hawkins, Bram Ttwheam and Lawrence Benetta and is a co-production between Wallace & Gromit’s UK creator Aardman, with the UK’s No Ghost and French companies Atlas V, Albyon and Astrea. The 60-minute VR experience takes players on a holiday gone awry with the...

The 2023 Venice Immersive program has been unveiled.

The annual programming features 44 projects from 25 countries, with Singing Chen serving as jury president. The selection of projects for the Xr – Extended Reality section will take place during the 80th Venice International Film Festival from August 30 to September 9. The official program is hosted on the Venice Immersive Island (island of Lazzaretto Vecchio), a short distance from the Lido di Venezia.

Venice Immersive is entirely devoted to immersive media and includes all Xr means of creative expression: 360° videos and Xr works of any length, including installations and virtual worlds. Twenty-eight projects are debuting in Competition, with 10 projects Out of Competition which have already been released or premiered elsewhere internationally in the past year since the last edition of the Venice International Film Festival.

The Venice Immersive World on VRChat will present a virtual presentation, with the Worlds Gallery section showcasing a selection of 24 virtual worlds,...