It must have been a rollercoaster experience for Festival organizer Elie Levasseur, the program leader of the XR section of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Cannes XR was born last year and had a dedicated 700 square meter space in the Palais des Festivals basement. Additionally, because of interest and industry growth, Levasseur managed to expand the festival by including a 1,600 square meter waterfront venue at the former Palm Beach Casino, offering views of the Lérins Islands and Cannes Bay. Basically, ‘the best seat in the house,’ which is the promise of virtual reality, but then the pandemic struck mercilessly.
The event industry is, of course, a major victim of the Covid-19 crisis, but in the danger of a crisis, you must be able to recognize the opportunity. After unveiling the Marché du Film Online, a standalone online market to be held from 22 to June 26th, the Marché du Film – Festival de Cannes announced the reshape of Cannes XR in a digital-only event dedicated to immersive technologies and works, Cannes XR Virtual.
Cannes XR Virtual
From 24 to June 26th, Cannes XR Virtual is the destination where professionals from the traditional filmmaking industry, XR artists, independent producers, leading tech companies, location-based and online distributors will come together to imagine and shape the future of movies.
You will be able to attend the virtual festival in many different ways. That’s how the organization wants to reach a broader audience and allow the visitors to meet the top-tier industry leaders and discover their XR work.
Pre-register for our panel at Cannes XR
Join the virtual revolution
- Cannes XR Virtual will be open to VR users at the Museum of Other Realities (MOR), a virtual art gallery specialized in featuring immersive work from VR artists around the world. The entire virtual program will remain available until July 3rd via the MOR application on Steam, Viveport, or Oculus.
- Cannes XR Virtual 2D live video streams shot by a virtual cameraman from the MOR, including conferences, pitching sessions, and project presentations will be accessible on the Marché du Film Online. Cannes XR Virtual 2D live video stream will also be available on the Tribeca Film Festival and Kaleidoscope.
- VeeR 360 Cinema, the selection of 360 cinematic experiences at Cannes XR Virtual, will be showcased on the VeeR VR Video Platform
- A network of partner Location Based Entertainment (LBE) in several major cities in the United States, China and France will offer access to Cannes XR Virtual to journalists and guests who do not have a VR headset. This is a smart way to provide the best experience, with the needed support to an inexperienced XR user.
Cannes XR Virtual will also team up with major key players in the immersive industry to combine a solid and diverse program featuring the latest creative works and technologies within the VR ecosystem.
In the coming weeks and after the festival, VRTL will launch a series of podcasts with partners and other industry leaders. We are excited and happy to have renewed our partnership with the festival. In addition to the podcast series, some of our course instructors will give a keynote during the VRTL conference. Keep an eye on the program to find out the exact dates and times.
We are certainly looking forward to this first virtual edition. Curious how this will go and especially whether we will drink a cocktail at Palm Beach Casino next year, during one of the many networking events. Will Cannes XR go completely virtual in the future or will we go back to the old? We put our hopes on a hybrid version of the event, because who does not want to go to the Côte d’Azur once in a while?