Sixteen immersive works from 9 countries will be presented in the Selection, including 9 in the Competition for this year’s Immersive Competition at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival.
The Immersive Competition Jury will be chaired by French director Luc Jacquet, who will be joined by American artist Laurie Anderson, French writer Tania de Montaigne, British director Martha Fiennes and Japanese video game creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi. This prestigious jury will be tasked with the noble task of awarding the prize for Best Immersive Work at the Immersive Closing Ceremony on May 22nd.
The First Edition of the Immersive Competition was in 2024. This year’s event will be held at the Carlton Hotel during the 78th Festival de Cannes. Returning for a second consecutive year, the Immersive Competition was introduced in 2024 to celebrate new forms of storytelling through spatial and sensory experiences. By freeing themselves from the screen and traditional cinematic language, immersive works invite viewers to enter into the narrative and often interact with it.
This year’s Immersive Selection will showcase nine works in the Competition, two non-competitive, and a Focus program featuring five Luxemburg creations, giving festival-goers an unprecedented insight into immersive creative processes.
Together, these sixteen proposals offer an overview of a rapidly evolving language – from virtual reality and mixed reality to video mapping and artificial intelligence. Designed to be experienced rather than viewed, these works take us into imaginary worlds where space, narrative, and emotion intertwine. They also invite us to question our relation to power, domination, and the complex, ambivalent ties we maintain with the natural world, technological systems, our own bodies, and our fellow human beings. This year’s talented cast includes Fanny Ardant, Daisy Ridley, Zar Amir, and Rod Paradot.
For the first time, the Immersive Competition will take place at the Carlton Hotel from May 14th to 23rd. The Croisette’s iconic venue will thus be transformed into a showcase dedicated to experiential and innovative forms of narration.
IN COMPETITION
BEYOND THE VIVID UNKNOWN
International Premiere
John Fitzgerald, Godfrey Reggio
Produced by Onassis ONX, Agog,
Foundry, Pressman Film, Asteria Film Co
Country United States
FILLOS DO VENTO: A RAPA
World Premiere
Brais Revalderia, María Fernanda Ordóñez Morla
Produced by Cinexin Studios, 100 Sutton Studios, Evernia Media, Wecom, Shift Midtown
Countries Spain, United States
FROM DUST
International Premiere
Michel van der Aa
Cast Viola Blache, Marie Fenske, Franziska Eberhardt, Marie Charlotte Seidel, Felicitas Erben, Helene Erben
Produced by doubleA Foundation
Countries The Netherlands
IN THE CURRENT OF BEING
International Premiere
Cameron Kostopoulos
Cast Carolyn Mercer
Produced by Kost, Floréal, France Télévisions
Countries United States, France
LACUNA
International Premiere
Maartje Wegdam, Nienke Huitenga-Broeren
Cast Sonja de Lange
Produced by Podium Biarritz, Studio Biarritz, Copper Views Film Productions
Countries The Netherlands
LILI
World Premiere
Navid Khonsari
Cast Zar Amir, Navid Negahban
Produced by iNK Stories, The Royal Shakespeare Company, Alambic Production
Countries United States, United Kingdom, France
tAxI
World Premiere
Yamil Rodriguez, Michael Arcos, Stephen Henderson
Produced by Nilor Studio
Country United Kingdom
THE DOLLHOUSE
World Premiere
Charlotte Bruneau, Dominic Desjardins
Cast Ellie Todd (English voice), Rebecca Maiese (English voice), Sarah Vergès (French voice), Claire Cahen (French voice), Béatrice René-Décarie (motion capture performer), Corinne Hoang (motion capture performer)
Produced by Wild Fang Films, Zazie Films
Countries Luxembourg, Canada
THE EXPLODING GIRL VR
World Premiere
Charlotte Bruneau, Dominic Desjardins
Cast Grace Seri
Produced by Atlas V, BYRD
Countries France, Greece
OUT OF COMPETITION
CHEZ MOI
World Premiere
Victoria Yakubova, Frédéric Le Louët
Cast Fanny Ardant (main voice), Eduard Yakubov, Stanislav Yakubov, Dilbar Yakubov, Ira Eduardovna, Anjelika Shalomayev, Alex Shalomayev, Aaron Shalomayev, Khasto Yakubov, Tamara Malaeva, Simona Le Louët, Guy Le Louët, Giovanni Fanelli, Gelsomina Fanelli, Leon Prudovsky, Evgeny Izraylit, Rinaldo Rocco, Frédéric Le Louët, Victoria Yakubova
Produced by Olma Djon Productions, Limited Edition
Country France
TRAILBLAZER
French Premiere
Eloise Singer
Cast Daisy Ridley, Mortiz Bleibtreu, David Bruckner
Produced by Singer Studios
Country United Kingdom
IMMERSIVE SELECTION – FOCUS
BATTLEFIELD
François Vautier
Cast Rod Paradot, Thimothée Robart, Nilton Martins, Michael Erpelding, Lou Mergen and Django
Produced by Da Prod, Digital Voodooh, France Télévisions, Kwassa Films
Countries France, Luxembourg, Belgium
CECI EST MON COEUR
Nicolas Blies, Stéphane Hueber-Blies
Cast Corentin Fila, Raphel Famotibe
Produced by a_BAHN, Lucid Realities, PHI Studio
Countries Luxembourg, France, Canada
FLOATING WITH SPIRITS
Juanita Onzaga
Cast Jocelynne Gallardo García, Jaquelyne Gallardo García, Florencia García, Rosalia Gallardo Alvarado, Guadalupe García Allende, Grupo de Huehuentones « Chajma ndle jaá »
Dancers Benoit Couchot, Astrid Sweeney, ‘Nunoy’ Johannes van den Burgh, Annick Schadeck
Vocalists Jana Bahrich, Sarah Kertz, Edmon Pires Domingo, John Wolter
Produced by Cassette for timescapes, Tarantula, Studio Biarritz
Countries Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands
ITO MEIKYU
Boris Labbé
Produced by Sacrebleu Productions, Les Films Fauves
Countries France, Luxembourg
OTO’S PLANET
Gwenael François
Cast Joël Delsaut (French narrator), Jérôme Reuter (English narrator), Greg Baumann (Oto mocap), Paul Robert Brice Montagne (Exo mocap), Paul Robert (Oto’s Voice), Pitt Simon (Exo’s Voice)
Produced by Skill Lab, Dpt., Small Creative
Countries Luxembourg, Canada, France
THE IMMERSIVE JURY
LUC JACQUET – President
Director – France
Born in 1967, Luc Jacquet grew up in Ain, fascinated by nature. A biologist by training, he participated in expeditions that led him to filmmaking to share the beauty of life. His film March of the Penguins won an Oscar in 2006. He later directed The Fox and the Child, Once Upon a Forest, Ice and the Sky, The Emperor, and Voyage to the South Pole. In 2016, he created his first immersive experience, Antarctica. In 2019, he founded Icebreaker Studios to reinvent storytelling around nature: exhibitions, performing arts, opera, immersive sound, and contemporary circus. In 2024, he presented Terra Incognita and is finalizing a new project set to premiere this summer.
LAURIE ANDERSON
Musician, director & writer – United States
Laurie Anderson is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, director, composer, musician, and multimedia pioneer. A major figure in experimental music and performance, she has published ten books, created many innovative shows, and received five Grammy nominations. Her visual work has been shown globally, including major solo exhibitions at the Hirshhorn Museum (Washington DC) and Moderna Museet (Stockholm). In 2024, the Recording Academy honored her with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Her latest exhibition, ARK, was presented in Manchester in November 2023.
TANIA DE MONTAIGNE
Author & interpreter – France
Tania de Montaigne is the author of Noire (Simone Veil Prize, 2015) and L’Assignation (Secularism Prize, 2018). Her latest novel, Sensibilités, was published in 2023. Noire was adapted for the stage, then reimagined as Noire, the immersive experience, written and performed by de Montaigne and directed by Stéphane Foenkinos and Pierre-Alain Giraud. Presented at the Centre Pompidou in 2023, then selected for Tribeca, London, and Cannes (Best Immersive Work Award, 2024), the work is now touring museums and theaters worldwide.
MARTHA FIENNES
Director, screenwriter & artist – United Kingdom
Martha Fiennes began with music videos for Al Green and Boy George, then directed award-winning ads. Her first film, Onegin, earned BAFTA nominations. Chromophobia closed the 2005 Cannes Festival. A key figure in British cinema, she has served on several juries. Since 2011, she has pioneered hybrid filmmaking using AI, digital environments, and studio shoots. Her works Nativity and Yugen (with Salma Hayek Pinault) create immersive, evolving sensory experiences. In 2025, both were presented at London’s Coronet Theatre to critical and public acclaim.
TETSUYA MIZUGUCHI
Video Game Creator – Japan
Mizuguchi creates unique sensory experiences blending interactive art and XR technology. Synesthesia and emotional immersion are central to his works, like Rez Infinite in VR, paired with the Synesthesia Suit and X1 system. Director of the Synesthesia Lab and professor at Keio University, he explores sensory interaction in media. He chaired the Japan Media Arts Festival jury in 2007 and has served on many juries. In 2020, he co-organized Virtual Realms with Barbican Immersive. His award-winning games include Rez, Lumines, Child of Eden, Tetris Effect, and Humanity.
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