Oscar nominee Erick Oh’s narrative poem “Namoo”, created with VR Quill animation tool, is inspired by the life of his grandfather Baobab Studios

Oscar nominee Erick Oh’s narrative poem “Namoo”, created with VR Quill animation tool, is inspired by the life of his grandfather Baobab Studios

The “New Images - XR3” event, initiated by NewImages Festival--the virtual and digital side of Paris, Tribeca and Cannes XR--includes four VR stations and runs internationally through partner satellite venues.

During a Friday press briefing, Film Fund Luxembourg director Guy Daleiden explained that while immersive is more difficult to arrange than normal film, he was “very excited” about the upcoming event at the Casino Luxembourg, an organisation with which “we’ve been in relation in VR for many years, and they offered us the location to show the 13 works issued from the festivals.”

The “New Images - XR3” virtual exhibition includes a range of immersive worlds. Among them include Oscar nominee Erick Oh’s narrative poem “Namoo” (pictured above), created with VR Quill animation tool, which is inspired by the life of Oh’s grandfather.

The VR installation “We Are at Home” (Michelle and Uri Kranot) had another source of inspiration, this time Carl Sandburg’s poem, “The Hangman at Home”. The installation reveals what the hangman does after a long day at work, exploring themes around self and other.

“Paper Birds” (German Heller, Federico Carlini) mixes fantasy and mystery, following young musician Toto as he travels from a physical world to an invisible world of inspiration. On the other hand, “Marco & Polo Go Round” (Benjamin Steiger Levine) is a romantic comedy following a couple on Marco’s 32nd birthday. His girlfriend, Polo, has doubts about their relationship, and the day takes a surrealistic turn.

But there are plenty of others to choose from in the lineup.

Growing demand for VR

The demand for VR appears to be growing: after its full virtual reality corner in 2016, the Luxembourg Film Festival (LFF) launched the first pavilion the following year. The 2020 edition had over 3,300 visitors, even though the festival was cut short. “This year we opted for a hybrid version on site,” Daleiden explained. This included the option for visitors either to discover VR on site at Neimënster, following sanitary measures, or to rent headsets through the “VR to Go”concept.

Although this year’s LFF ended on 14 March, the VR pavilion and VR to Go service were originally extended through May 2021. Daleiden announced on Tuesday, however, that the pavilion and rental service have been extended until the end of summer, and it’s possible there will be fresh films added to the lineup over the months to come.

The director also expressed his delight about the upcoming “Alin & Art” programme, organised by Lycée Aline Mayrisch, which will provide students with a range of cultural workshops in the artistic field, with the Film Fund Luxembourg loaning VR headsets to high school classes on 14-16 June.

Visiting the exhibition

The event takes place 9-20 June at Casino Luxembourg during its normal business hours and is free of charge.