Tribeca Festival Announces the 2023 Immersive Lineup

The Tribeca Festival recently unveiled its lineup for Tribeca Immersive, a program dedicated to showcasing extended reality creators. Now in its 11th year, Tribeca Immersive showcases innovative and cinematic works across multiple platforms including virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and various experiences that push the boundaries of storytelling.

This year, the program will include a new addition, the Games & Immersive Experience, which will take place in person at Spring Studios, 50 Varick Street. The new segment will feature games that can be played from the comfort of your own home, on the streets, or in modern galleries. It will also showcase the latest 3D works from world-renowned artists, who use immersive technology to create thought-provoking social statements. Tribeca Immersive’s highly curated program represents the wide spectrum of contemporary storytelling, including impactful stories from well-known artists, awe-inspiring experiences that explore different avenues of technological intervention, and best-in-class XR games that pioneer a new generation of interactive entertainment.

Featured experiences will include The Fury by Iranian visual artist Shirin Neshat, a captivating 360-degree experience and video installation that explores the sexual exploitation of female political prisoners; Colored from Novaya and Centre Pompidou, a mixed-reality installation adapted from Tania de Montaigne’s award-winning biographical essay on 15-year-old Claudette Colvin who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus to a white passenger in the 1950s; Maya: The Birth (Chapter 1), a virtual reality animation from multi-awarded studio Floréal and directed by renowned photographer and women’s rights activist Poulomi Basu; Kinfolk: Black Lands from Idris Brewster, an AR experience that celebrates the past, present, and future of the Black communities that have built New York City; and Pixel Ripped 1978, the newest title in the nostalgia-fueled Pixel Ripped virtual reality game-within-a-game series, created by Emmy-winning VR studio ARVORE and Atari.

Running from June 9-17, Tribeca Immersive is divided into two categories of selections this year: Main Competition and New Voices. Main Competition projects are eligible for the juried Storyscapes Award, which honors artists who bridge the gap between technology and storytelling. The New Voices Award is awarded to a first- or second-time XR creator who brings new perspectives and artistic languages to immersive storytelling.

“The range of immersive experiences is a much broader landscape than when we started 11 years ago. Tribeca Festival’s immersive program reflects the widest range of methods — from AI, AR, MR, and VR to live performance — we have ever showcased. All of the experiences bring to life stories that will resonate deeply with audiences in unexpected ways."

-- Tribeca Vice President of Games & Immersive Casey Baltes

“This year's selection focuses on two key areas: the coalescence of XR and games and the rise of a new genre of immersive games that users can play on their phones or through next-gen mixed reality devices. Secondly, we celebrate artists and activists who choose AI and immersive technology to convey important social messages or introduce unexpected new qualities to fine arts, theater, and film. I'm also proud to share that most of our selections are written, directed, or produced by women, which shows that female leadership in immersive is becoming a reality."

-- Tribeca Immersive Curator Ana Brzezińska

To purchase passes and ticket packages, visit tribecafilm.com/festival.

Stay tuned for further Tribeca 2023 coverage leading up to the festival in June.

The festival is curated by a team of esteemed professionals, including Cara Cusumano, Frédéric Boyer, and Sharon Badal, among others.

Until next time!

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