Venice Immersive recently wrapped up, and we spent a week going hands-on once more with various projects.

An XR-focused segment of the Venice International Film Festival, this year marked my third year visiting Lazzaretto Vecchio after attending in 2023 and 2024. Featuring nearly 70 different projects from 27 countries, only 30 projects were in competition for awards, and this event provides a strong opportunity to discover what's happening on the film-adjacent side of this industry.

Many of these projects don't usually end up seeing home releases, often being more geared up for festivals and location-based experiences. I'd love to see that change in the future for greater accessibility, though I'm happy to see Venice Immersive also hosting a VRChat world once again. Together, these stages continue offering platforms for creators to find their feet across immersive art and entertainment.

This year's event had some extenuating personal circumstances that, unfortunately, meant I couldn't try out as much as I would normally. Even still, I got a good look across the wider selection of projects. With that said, here's everything I saw at Venice Immersive 2025.

My festival began with Asteroid, a 180° short film that's launching alongside Samsung's Android XR headset later this year. Starring Ron Perlman, Hailee Steinfeld, Leon Mandel, NFL player DK Metcalf, and more, this story sees a group of strangers risk everything by flying an old rocket to mine a near-Earth asteroid for untold wealth.

Splitting this experience between three different sections, the actual film segment is the best part. It's a familiar story of the corrupting power of greed, and Steinfeld puts in a great performance while the remaining cast doesn't have much time to truly shine. Unfortunately, the interactive segments are hampered by the segments using a generative AI version of DK Metcalf that doesn't tonally work. More on that soon.

Face Jumping was my personal highlight for that day, offering a surrealist VR adventure that puts you in someone else's position using eye tracking on Quest Pro. It's a bit of a one-trick pony that lasts roughly 25 minutes, though it's one of the better uses I've seen yet for eye tracking across all types of VR experiences. My full thoughts can be found below.

1968 presented a seated, communal VR experience focused on the power of protest, though the execution feels scattered. Sense of Nowhere followed, which I originally considered a potential highlight but found myself disappointed by. Empathy Creatures is about looking after a bird across different environments, providing some colorful visuals and nice interactions but not much else.

The following day delivered several strong experiences, each of which sticks with me for different reasons. Blur was perhaps my most memorable experience, though that's purely because of how surreal certain aspects are. Joined by other participants with live actors also involved, this roomscale experience goes on a strange journey about the ethics of cloning.

As a Formula 1 fan that follows Ferrari, Black Cats & Chequered Flags was easily my highlight this day. It's an interactive VR and MR experience focused on Alberto Ascari, winner of the 1952 and 1953 championships. It's an all too brief tribute to Italy's most successful F1 driver and his life that misses some key details, though there's considerable heart to this tale that softens some rough edges.

The mixed reality minigame where you perform a 50s-style pit stop is rather enjoyable, too.

My day ended with Alien Perspective. This explores the legacy of Italian special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi, the three-time Academy Award winner that worked on King Kong (1976), Alien, E.T., and more. Co-directed by his granddaughter Cristina Rambaldi and Jung Ah Suh, this turns his painting, Città Spaziale 2, into an immersive world. I was immediately drawn to this idea, which leads into a touching tribute for the deceased artist.

Once I returned to Venice Immersive, this started out well through Out of Nowhere. With climate change becoming an ever-increasing threat to our future, this 10-minute experience focuses on the story of Anna, a resident of Hallein near the Austrian Alps. This highlights the challenges posed by an increasingly unpredictable climate well, focusing on 2021's devastating European floods.

Similarly enlightening is Reflections of Little Red Dot by Chloé Lee, a mixed reality experience that explores time, memory, diaspora, and place in Singapore through “intimate conversations” and personal stories filmed in 2015. As someone largely unfamiliar with the country's history, I found a compelling insight into the country's history and heritage.

What I particularly liked about this experience is the use of props, using a faux film projector where you slot one of eight cards into it to see these stories unfold on a digital table in front of you. This isn't always the smoothest execution as I encountered some positioning issues, though that does little to hamper an otherwise deeply personal look into the country.

My next appointment is what I'd consider to be my highlight of Venice Immersive 2025, The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up, which adapts a Taiwanese short story into a free-roaming VR experience. It focuses on Guan, who finds his wife's unfinished novel after her sudden death. Grief-stricken and full of regret, he sets off on a journey to complete her work, investigating the endangered clouded leopard and Rukai tribe.

Not only does this deliver a captivating story focused on love and loss mixed with indigenous mythology, it's a highly distinctive approach to VR filmmaking that goes beyond the 180° and 360° videos we've often seen. You can't influence the actions each character takes, though you can fully explore these scenes and catch subtle details you might otherwise miss. If there's anything that I hope gets a home release, it's this.

Capping off my last day at Venice Immersive were four different projects, and I walked away from A Long Goodbye feeling quite emotional. This focuses on the life of Ida, a 72-year-old pianist who has dementia, while you interact with tape recordings, memories, and more. This handles the subject matter rather delicately, brought to life by some gorgeous visuals. I can agree with this taking the Venice Achievement Prize.

Then we have Mulan 2125, a lesson in researching what you try before booking an appointment. One of the few Apple Vision Pro experiences at Venice Immersive, this 180° 3D animated movie makes some strange design choices that overly objectify its female characters and becomes really awkward to watch. That's not helped by the black borders clearly visible whenever I look left or right even slightly. I ended my session early.

I soon moved onto First Virtual Suit, an intriguing journey of self-discovery that focuses on how we project ourselves through digital avatars, looking at communities like VRChat or Resonite. Last was La Magie Opéra, a roomscale experience that goes beyond a tribute to the opera. A nice idea that needs a more modern headset than a Vive Focus 3. Hand tracking feels painfully outdated compared to Quest, especially since it doesn't register finger movement.

Like before, there are a few highlights I couldn't fit in. Creation of the Worlds is a poetic exploration of M.K. Čiurlionis' works, Mnemosyne blends VR film and theater, while L’ombre (The Shadow) sees a scientist bring his shadow to life. I'm pleased Ghost Town, Wall Town Wonders, and The Midnight Walk hosted demos, too. It's another year when the highs were high but the lows were low, delivering an enjoyably varied showcase. I'd love to see where this goes next year.

Venice Immersive 2025 ran from August 27 until September 6, 2025.