XR DREAMLAND
The immersive experience of XR is often multi-layered and complex. Creators not only stimulate our senses but also draw from real-world research, adapt existing texts, or explore a character's inner psyche. The participation of international teams is also crucial to this process.
The Kaohsiung VR FILM LAB Originals section presents The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up and The Guardians of Jade Mountain. Based on Taiwanese novels and natural history, these films unfold across different timelines, leading us into consciousness and deep forests, and gradually blurring the lines between fiction and reality. The 2025 Villa Formose Taiwan-France Residency Project, Pelagos, uses virtual avatars to dive into a mysterious sea closely linked to Taiwan, created through the solid collaboration of experts from Taiwan, Germany, and France.
The XR Spotlight section features a curated selection of important international productions. The multi-user experience Titanic: Echoes from the Past revisits this historic event both above and below the waterline, inside and outside the ship. Through organic spatial storytelling and meticulous design, it revives the hopes and emotions of that era. Meanwhile, Impulse: Playing with Reality uses mixed reality (MR) to explore subtle psychological struggles and harsh realities, building empathy for a character’s dignity. Finally, Mobile Suit Gundam: Silver Phantom offers an epic journey that makes the dream of being in an anime universe a reality.
Continuing its signature section, the festival will once again present the XR Competition. This year’s 23 selected works highlight the broad advancements in contemporary XR, ranging from interactive installations and tracking technology to fluid shifts between abstract and realistic aesthetics.
The Special Project: Taiwan Content Plan XR Immersive Content Projects Selection and Special Project: XR Festival Asia x Sanrio Virtual Festival Projects sections will also be featured, exploring themes of growth, memory, gender, musical performance, art history, and contemporary issues. Through these works, we continue our quest across borders, finding new life in excellent immersive creations from both Taiwan and abroad.
