L-R: Prime Minister, Minister for Communications and Media Xavier Bettel; Guy Daleiden, director of the Fonds national de soutien à la production audiovisuelle; Credit: Jazmin Campbell

Building on the success of the two previous editions, the Luxembourg City Film Festival's Virtual Reality (VR) Pavilion is set to return to Casino Luxembourg - Forum d'art contemporain, from 6-17 March 2019.

The third edition of the VR Pavilion, organised by the Film Fund Luxembourg in collaboration with Digital Luxembourg and PHI Centre Montreal, will showcase some of the most inventive VR works from Luxembourg and beyond.

The Pavilion's programme for 2019 includes two co-productions supported by the Film Fund Luxembourg: feature-length VR thriller Fan Club (starring Sylvie Testud and Mathieu Kassovitz, directed by Vincent Ravalec and produced by a_BAHN) and interactive game Playmobil the Movie - VR Adventures (directed by Olivier Rakoto and co-produced with Bidibul Productions). Indeed, the Pavilion will offer a wider range of films and experiences this year than in previous editions, bringing together interactive video games, TV series and animations to create immersive stories.

Speaking of the aim of this year's Pavilion at a press conference earlier today, Prime Minister and Minister for Communications and Media Xavier Bettel highlighted the importance of adapting to new technologies and "bring[ing] culture closer to the people". Indeed, Xavier Bettel cited the film sector as one of the most important and diverse media platforms. Guy Daleiden, director of the Fonds national de soutien à la production audiovisuelle, added that the main mission of the VR Pavilion is to tell real stories, as well as encouraging people to engage with these stories and experiences. This is what makes this edition so unique.

As well as the Luxembourg co-productions cited above, the Pavilion will showcase nine other VR works: Arden's Wake, an award-winning, touching animation, rock-n-roll-style animation Battlescar, the darker Kobold short film and Kobold - Experience, The Coast, a short, feel-good interactive music video, Chinese documentary The Real Thing (featuring replicas of some of the world's best-known cities), documentary experience The Scream/Le cri and the more intimate VR experience Vestige. These works will be shown across three different floors at Casino Luxembourg.

The official opening of the VR Pavilion will take place on 6 March at Casino Luxembourg. The Pavilion will then run from 7-17 March, beginning with a VR Day on 7 March from 10:00. This event will take the form of a round table discussing various case studies related to VR and storytelling. 

Last year's VR Pavilion attracted some 1,500 guests.