Check out the lineup for XR Experience Spotlight and XR Experience Special Events below:

444.2 (South Africa)
Director: Nirma Madhoo, Producers: Ingrid Kopp, Steven Markovitz, Antoinette Engel
The first star cluster mapped by the original stargazers constellates 444.2 light years away from Earth. African cosmology and volumetric fashion performance on the site of the Southern African Large Telescope mesmerize on a sublime journey to space. (North American Premiere)

Antipsychotic
Director/Screenwriter: Matt McCorkle, Producers: Jessica Kidd, Jazia Hammoudi
Dive into a psychotropic journey through a bipolar mind with immersive soundscapes, tactile haptics, and a triptych display. Blending cyberpunk aesthetics with intimate, audio-reactive explorations of pre and post-treatment emotions. (Texas Premiere)

Buried in the Rock (United Kingdom)
Directors: Shehani Fernando, Matthew Shaw, William Trossell, Producer: Manuela Mesrie
Experience the world of caving through the eyes of speleologists Tim and Pam Fogg who are passionate about exploring some of the world’s last remaining pristine environments. (North American Premiere)

Dani: the Portrait of a Beauty (Korea, Republic of)
Director: Cooper Sanghyun Yoo, Producer: Jay Kim, Screenwriter: Boram Kang
In a VR journey inspired by a well-known Korean genre painter Shin Yunbok, explore the 1700s Joseon Dynasty daily life through Pansori storytelling, traditional Korean dance, and cel-shading visuals, unveiling Dani’s love story. (International Premiere)

Dreaming of Lebanon
Directors: Martin Waehlisch, Cynthia Sawma, Producer: Martin Waehlisch, Screenwriters: Martin Waehlisch, Adrian Meyer
Dreaming of Lebanon is an interactive VR documentary that provides an immersive experience into the lives of young Lebanese people and their hopes for the future. (International Premiere)

Emperor (France, Germany)
Directors: Marion Burger, Ilan J. Cohen, Producers: Oriane Hurard, Katharina Weser, Screenwriters: Marion Burger, Ilan J. Cohen
Emperor is an interactive and narrative experience in virtual reality, which invites the user to travel inside the brain of a father who is suffering from aphasia. (North American Premiere)

Energēia (France)
Director/Screenwriter: Ugo Arsac
Energēia is an immersive documentary experience that questions the future of energy use. Freed from gravity, the visitor can explore ghostly buildings, built from 3D scans within French nuclear power plants to discover hidden interviews. (International Premiere)

Escape to Shanghai
Director: Charlotte Mikkelborg, Producer: Micaela Blitz
On the night of November 9th, 1938, German Jews knew that their lives were in danger. For 4-year-old Doris Fogel and her mother the kindness of neighbors helped them to flee to one of the only places whose doors were open to European Jews – Shanghai. (Texas Premiere)

Her Name Was Gisberta (Brazil, Portugal)
Director/Producer: Sérgio Galvão Roxo, Screenwriters: Pedro Velho, Sérgio Galvão Roxo
Her Name Was Gisberta is a VR documentary that portrays the life and death of Gisberta Salce, a Brazilian Trans woman murdered by 14 young men in the city of Porto (Portugal). (North American Premiere)

The Imaginary Friend (Netherlands)
Director/Screenwriter: Steye Hallema, Producer: Corine Meijers
A young child with a vivid imagination struggles to make sense of the world around him, he needs YOU–his imaginary friend–to help him navigate his feelings. (North American Premiere)

Impulse (Preview) (France, United Kingdom)
Directors: Barry Gene Murphy, May Abdalla, Producers: John Hunter, Katayoun Dibamehr, Avi Amar, Screenwriters: Barry Gene Murphy, May Abdalla
A mixed reality experience that uses games and first person narratives to take participants inside the minds of real life characters who have learnt to adjust to a complex society.

Letters From Drancy
Director: Darren Emerson, Producer: Micaela Blitz
A story of loss, love and daring escapes across the borders of Europe in WW2. Join Marion Deichmann as she recounts her story of survival during the Holocaust. (Texas Premiere)

NÂ TÂU TSÍ Á (SISTER LIN-TOU) VR (Taiwan)
Directors: Hsiao-mei,Ho, CHUAN Ming-Yuan, Producers: Pu-Yuan Cheng, Chia-Feng Lin
This VR work delves into the theme of the body, inspired by traditional Taiwanese folklore, particularly the story of Sister Lin-Tou. It sheds light on the remarkable ability of our bodies to preserve memories of past trauma, even after the wounds have fully healed. (International Premiere)

Shadowtime (US, Netherlands, Turkey)
Directors/Screenwriters: Sister Sylvester, Deniz Tortum, Producers: Firat Sezgin, Ecegül Bayram
You are in two worlds at the same time. Your body is in the other world, but your heart is in this one. (North American Premiere)

Songs for a Passerby (Netherlands)
Director: Celine Daemen
A dreamlike VR-opera about our experience of time. How do we relate to a world of things that are passing? Are we a part of it? Or are we just looking at it? (North American Premiere)

Tadpole
Director: Diane Catsburrow Linnet
It’s a day like any other. How do you break the cycle? (North American Premiere)

Tulpamancer
Directors: Marc Da Costa, Matthew Niederhauser
Tulpamancer is a machine learning VR installation that shapes a dreamlike, immersive encounter with the memories and possible futures of each participant. (North American Premiere)

Walk to Westerbork
Director: Mary Matheson, Producer: Micaela Blitz
When a young girl’s life is brutally interrupted by the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands, luck and defiance will ensure that she survives the Holocaust. (Texas Premiere)

SPECIAL EVENTS:

A Picture Can’t Take Me (Germany)
Director: Cibelle Cavalli Bastos
A Picture Can’t Take Me is a target tracking audiovisual interactive AR experience intermeshing the physicality and augmented layers of AI-generated and collaborated sound, image, and words. Presented by Synthesis Gallery from Berlin, Germany. (World Premiere)

Kiss/Crash (United Kingdom)
Director: Adam Cole
An immersive triptych of AI visuals subverting classic cinematic myths; scenes include a car crash transformed into a kiss, the artist mutated into iconic cinematic lovers, and an interactive foot pedal that accelerates an artificial romance. (International Premiere)

Opal (Canada)
Directors: Thibaut Duverneix, Guillaume Cardell
Explore a multi-user interactive experiment showcasing ecosystem interconnectedness through an artifact blending minerals, plants, and technology. Unveil a mesmerizing world of rhizomes and particles, igniting shimmering elements via light beams. (International Premiere)

SXSW will run from March 8-16 in Austin, TX. You can purchase various badges on their website.

We will be covering SXSW, so be sure to follow along for further updates including reviews and event coverage!