Cannes Film Festival turns spotlight on VR movie-going experience

VR is now widespread internationally, and France is at the cutting edge of this sector. Here’s an overview of the market leaders in the world of VR. Next began this year’s festivities from May 8 (until May 13), with its Innovation Hub occupying, for the second time, the basement area of the Cannes Film Market. Over six days, this unconventional space dedicated to innovation and virtual reality will shine the spotlight on the most recent immersive creations. 

According to UNIFrance, more than 30 international companies have signed up for this year’s Next Innovation screening program, with 140 films to be presented including works by the crème de la crème of the contemporary French VR scene, which is dominated by a handful of extremely dynamic operators. 

Fresh from its recent success at Sundance (with the sale of SPHERES for over $1 million) and Tribeca (BattleScar, Vestige), the up-and-coming company Atlas V studio will take part in many of the talk sessions to be held at the Next Hub, such as the talks focused on the Digital Lab Africa platform, International Co-Productions, Financing and Monetization Strategies, and Artificial Intelligence. 

A pioneer in immersive content, Arte will be a key participant in the Next Hub program. Diversion Cinema emerged on the scene two years ago when they organized VR screenings in Paris at the Forum des Images and the Louxor Cinema. Since then, this young start-up company has come a long way and has successfully exported its knowhow around the world. 

Film Festivals such as Venice, Dubai, Cannes, and Amsterdam regularly program their presentations of VR content.