L-R: Guy Daleiden, Film Fund Luxembourg Director; Christophe Eyssartier, Kinepolis Luxembourg Country Manager; Credit: Michel Logeling/Film Fund Luxembourg

Film Fund Luxembourg has announced that the sixth edition of the Virtual Reality (VR) Pavilion will take place in the vaulted cellars of the Abbaye de Neumünster (neimënster) in Luxembourg-Grund from 1 to 19 March 2023.

For the sixth consecutive year, Film Fund Luxembourg, in partnership with the PHI Centre in Montreal, will organise its VR Pavilion dedicated to prestigious award-winning Extended Reality (XR) cinema works and artwork using immersive technologies such as augmented reality and binaural sound. This edition has been made possible, according to the organisers, thanks to the support of long-standing partners including Digital Luxembourg.

Throughout this year's Luxembourg City Film Festival (LuxFilmFest) and beyond, the public will be able to discover eleven original and unpublished works in an immersive scenographic context at the Abbaye de Neumünster. Film Fund Luxembourg noted that the facilities will be free to access and all measures will be taken to ensure the greatest health security. School visits are also on the agenda.

Moreover, a specially equipped VR cinema will offer a selection of 360° films allowing the public to discover this technology.

The VR Pavilion's programme will once again serve as a showcase for Luxembourg co-productions, such as "Missing Pictures" by Clément Deneux (a Wild Fang Films co-production) and "A Colônia Luxemburguesa" by Dominique Santana (a Samsa Film co-production).

For the third time, LuxFilmFest has set up an international jury of experts (Bettina Steinbrügge, Katayoun Dibamehr and Dan Tucker) for a competition devoted exclusively to immersive works, which will award a prize of €4,000 to one of the ten VR works (including one Luxembourgish work) in the running.

The VR Pavilion will also be an opportunity for Film Fund Luxembourg to organise its fifth VR Day on Thursday 2 March 2023, during which national and international experts will discuss current trends and challenges in the virtual, mixed and augmented reality market.

For the first time, the VR Pavilion will host a "Game Jam", an intensive 48-hour competition allowing students specialising in programming, design and game development to create their own video game.

Film Fund Luxembourg and Digital Luxembourg will also organise a targeted synergy event aimed at exploring new avenues of collaboration between professionals and companies in their respective sectors.

From 20 March to 30 June 2023, the "VR to GO" concept will make a comeback. This allows the public to rent a VR headset for two to three days in order to watch all the VR cinema works presented at the VR Pavilion from the comfort of their home.