Panorama
From Play to Film: Global Selection Line up Announced for the Boundless Immersive Section
As moving images move beyond the confines of the screen into spatial and embodied experience, a new cinematic form is emerging. The Boundless ∞ Immersive Section of the16th Beijing International Film Festival responds to this shift with the curatorial theme "From Play to Film", proposing a distinctly Chinese interpretive framework for contemporary immersive media. Drawing on the concept of "you" (游), it reconceives both the fluid perception of "contemplative viewing" and the subjective experience of "free roaming" as pathways into the image. At a time when game logic, interactive systems and spatial storytelling are increasingly converging, "play" has become a critical point of connection between cinema and immersive media.
Boundless ∞ Immersive Section of Beijing International Film Festival
As one of the section's central strands, the "Global Selection" brings together leading immersive works from around the world, highlighting the convergence of media across dimensions of space, interaction and perception. Here, moving image is no longer a medium to be viewed but an experiential space to be entered—where narrative and meaning are generated through action and lived experience.
360 VR (Seated-Viewing)
The Sad Story of the Little Mouse Who Wanted to Become Somebody
Director: Nicolas Bourniquel
2025 | 29 min
Once upon a time, there was a little mouse who worked tirelessly, day and night, with a single ambition: to become somebody important. Driven by this goal, she gradually becomes sharp-tongued and arrogant, pushing away those around her. One day, she secures what appears to be an ideal position—working for Santa Claus, the world's busiest and most renowned toymaker. Yet she soon discovers that the path to professional advancement is far less glamorous than she had imagined. Confronted with the gap between aspiration and reality, she must ultimately reckon with her true self.
Highlights: A VR Christmas fable that blends cinematic storytelling with 360-degree animation, offering a fluid observational perspective while delivering a pointed critique of workplace culture.
Korstmos
Director: Tibor De Jong (Nemo Vos)
2025 | 23 min
This work immerses audiences in the inner world of a a man living in complete solitude. Confined to the walls of his small apartment, he experiences the world through routine. As he obsessively prepares for the sound of the doorbell, he awaits the arrival of his grocery delivery. Korstmos serves as both a technical and philosophical exploration of the boundaries that define life, set within the inherently boundaryless medium of virtual reality.
Highlights: Lichen envelops the Earth; rooms enclose us; VR frames the interface. Audiences are invited to enter an immersive exploration of VR language that probes the boundaries between reality and virtuality, and between the physical self and its digital counterpart, at a moment when AI-generated imagery is reshaping perception.
Bodies of Water
Directors: Chélanie Beaudin-Quintin;
Caroline Laurin-Beaucage
2024 | 11 min
At nightfall, a group of dancers enters a public swimming pool, submerging their bodies and transcending the constraints of the natural environment through subtle transformation. What unfolds is a contemporary dance shaped by the aquatic setting, where performers appear at once weightless, fluid and vulnerable. Bodies of Water examines the shifting dynamics between the human body and water, where movement encounters resistance while gaining heightened fluidity and adaptability.
Highlights: As gravity meets the underwater realm and surface reflections dissolve, the pool becomes a redefined spatial field for the body. Audiences are invited to hold their breath and descend into an immersive, rarely accessible experience of contemporary dance.
VR (Single-User Interactive)
The Great Escape
Director: Joren Vandenbroucke
2025 | 25 min
Patrick, a 38-year-old recluse, lives alone in a sparse and silent apartment. On his windowsill sit three geraniums, rooted and immobile—restless, discontented and quietly resentful of their confinement, their surroundings and even Patrick. Longing to see the outside world yet bound in place, they are finally given an opportunity to venture outdoors. Their initial excitement, however, gives way to the harsh realities of an environment that proves far from hospitable. A sudden survival crisis pushes them to the brink, ultimately guiding them toward an unfamiliar yet curiously recognizable new home.
Highlights: Presented from the perspective of a newly blossomed geranium, the experience invites audiences to observe balconies, sunrises, and the rhythms of passing pedestrians, trams and bicycles—while plotting a daring escape, and uncovering what lies beyond the plant's limited awareness.
A Long Goodbye
Directors: Kate Voet;
Victor Maes
2025 | 25–30 min
A Long Goodbye follows Ida, a 72-year-old pianist gradually succumbing to dementia. Blending animation with interactivity, this VR experience places audiences within Ida's perspective over the course of a single day, as her perception of reality slowly fades. The apartment she once shared with her husband Daniel initially appears empty and indistinct. Yet as viewers interact with objects and activate recordings Daniel left behind, her world begins to regain clarity and warmth, as though repainted in vivid detail. Fragments of memory and dialogue gradually coalesce, guiding Ida toward a fragile rediscovery of self.
Highlights: A poetic and deeply affecting immersive work that renders memory tactile, offering a nuanced portrayal of dementia and a tender, protracted farewell between lifelong partners.
Eddie and I
Director: Maya Shekel
2025 | 22 min
Eight-year-old deaf Ron is afraid of his first camping trip. To calm him, his mother tells the story of Eddie the Camper, a friendly monster who grew up in the forest. Despite her efforts, Ron's fear persists. That night, Ron falls into a deep sleep and awakens in a surreal forest where he meets the player, embodied as Eddie the Camper. Together, they embark on an adventure full of challenges. But there's one barrier standing in the way: Ron can't hear, and the player doesn't know sign language.
Highlights: Audiences play Eddie, learning sign language alongside Ron and journeying with him through the forest in a story centered on understanding, trust and human connection.
The Dollhouse
Directors: Charlotte Bruneau;
Dominic Desjardins
2025 | 25 min
The Dollhouse unfolds as an evolving paper-crafted world. Nine-year-old Juniper struggles to reconcile a lingering sense of guilt over how her family treated Magnolia, a woman who came from afar to work as their house cleaner. This interactive VR experience probes the subtle formation of power dynamics within the private sphere of the home. As Juniper reenacts her memories using paper figures, she gradually confronts her own complicity, developing the courage to challenge her parents and act according to her conscience.
Highlights: Origami serves as both the architecture of a fairy tale and a metaphor for fragile human relationships. Beneath the surface of the paper figures lies a layered emotional landscape, inviting audiences to engage with care and empathy as they enter the character's inner world.
Danse Danse Danse-Matisse
Directors: Agnès Molia;
Gordon
2025 | 10 min
Between 1906 and 1954, Henri Matisse created over twenty paintings exploring the theme of dance. This subject shaped many of his artistic choices, influencing his style and technique. Movement and dance were constant sources of inspiration for the master of colour throughout his life's work. An immersive, dance-led journey through Matisse's most iconic works, Danse Danse Danse – Matisse grants an intimate view of the creation of some of his greatest masterpieces, including La Danse (1909, The Museum of Modern Art, New York), La Danse II (Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia), La Danse inachevée and La Danse de Paris (Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris).
Highlights: A cross-disciplinary artistic exploration combining original choreography by Sarah Silverblatt-Buser with painting and interactivity. The work pays tribute to the vibrant movements and colors that define Matisse's art, inviting viewers to step into his world.
Insider-Outsider
Director: Philippe Cohen Solal
2025 | 12–15 min
Insider-Outsider is an interactive VR music experience inspired by the life of celebrated outsider artist Henry Darger, whose work was only discovered posthumously. A pivotal figure in American outsider art, Darger is known for his depictions of the Vivian Girls—seven young heroines engaged in a defiant struggle against the brutality of the adult world. The project integrates pop music (from the album Outsider, co-created by Cohen Solal and Mike Lindsay), animation and performative elements into a unified immersive experience.
Highlights: Fusing music with dreamlike visual landscapes, the work draws audiences into a world shaped by painting and rhythm, where they are invited to protect the Vivian Girls and restore harmony through interactive engagement with music and nature.
Oto's Planet
Director: Gwenael François
2024 | 28 min
Oto enjoys his simple life, relaxing in a hammock and eating pink fruits from his unique tree. With the user's help, Oto tries to grab a fruit but accidentally causes a shockwave that attracts Exo's ship, which crashes on the planet. This meticulously crafted miniature animated VR experience features an original gesture-control system, allowing users to rotate the planet and choose their viewing perspective as the narrative unfolds.
Highlights: Echoing the familiar act of rotating a globe on an in-flight map, users actively navigate Oto's world through touch, seamlessly transitioning between VR and MR environments. Beneath its playful surface lies a more subtle narrative layer awaiting discovery.
VR (Multi-User, Free-Roaming)
Colosseum: The Legendary Arena
Directors: Benjamin Auriche;
Jean Dellac
2026 | 30 min
Developed over an 18-month period in collaboration with École française de Rome, this immersive experience is shaped by the expertise of archaeologist Audrey Bertrand, Director of Research in Antiquities and Head of the Department of Archaeology. Audiences are transported into ancient Rome—passing through the Porte de Mars (Gate of Mars), exploring domestic spaces, traversing vibrant marketplaces, and encountering landmark sites from the Pantheon to the Forum. The journey culminates in the Colosseum, where users move from the stands to the subterranean chambers, following Caius and Flamma as they witness gladiatorial combat, wild beast hunts, and even dramatic staged naval battles.
Highlights: Grounded in archaeological research, the experience reconstructs ancient Rome through a large-scale, walk-through format, transforming history into a fully navigable and immersive environment.
Titanic: Echoes From The Past
Directors: Benjamin Auriche;
Jean Dellac
2025 | 30 min
Following two years of extensive research, this landmark vessel has been reconstructed on an unprecedented scale, bringing to light previously untold stories. Presented as a 30min fully immersive VR experience—the first of its kind dedicated to the Titanic— viewers descend 3,800 meters beneath the ocean's surface to explore the wreck as it exists today, before journeying back in time to walk the decks of the ship in its prime and uncover the lives and secrets of its passengers. Through the perspectives of the captain and crew, viewers relive the tragic night from the navigation bridge.
Highlights: A richly layered immersive reconstruction that bridges past and present, reconfiguring historical memory through a synthesis of exploration and narrative.
MR (Mixed Reality)
D-Day: The Camera Soldier
Director: Chloé Rochereuil (for Targo)
2025 | 22 min
Marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, this immersive documentary brings to light a little-known chapter of history. Among the first to land on Omaha Beach, Sergeant Richard Taylor carried not a rifle but a camera, tasked with documenting the Allied landings so the world could witness Europe's liberation. Decades later, his daughter Jennifer receives an unexpected message, setting her on a journey across time and continents to rediscover a father she never fully knew.
Highlights: Through meticulously restored photographs and archival footage, history is rendered vividly in immersive 3D, transforming memory into an experience that can be directly encountered. Close-proximity 180-degree visuals and digitally reconstructed artifacts place viewers at the heart of the beach.
Immersive Spatial Media (Triple-Screen Installation)
Fillos do Vento: A Rapa
Director: Brais Revaldería
2025 | 28 min
This immersive documentary invites audiences into the ancient "Rapa" ritual of Galicia, Spain, where humans and wild horses engage in a centuries-old practice that intertwines strength, care and coexistence. Developed from more than seven years of on-site filming within the local community, the work offers a profound exploration of the emotional bonds between people, land and animals, while reflecting on the tensions between tradition and modern transformation. Through an integrated use of spatial imagery, sound design and environmental elements, audiences are encouraged to inhabit the ritual itself rather than observe it from a distance.
Highlights: The only documentary immersive project selected for the Cannes Immersive section, the work offers a profound exploration of the emotional bonds between people, land and animals. It expands the sensory dimensions of immersive media by engaging sight, sound, touch and smell, inviting audiences to inhabit the ancient Rapa ritual in a fully embodied way.
The Boundless ∞ Immersive Section of the 16th Beijing International Film Festival will open at the "Boundless ∞ Immersive Cinema" (E4) at Shouchuang · Langyuan Station, Dongba, Chaoyang District, Beijing. Under the theme "From Play to Film, Toward an Intelligent Immersive Future", audiences are invited to experience and engage with new frontiers in immersive storytelling.
