The Immersive: All around Cinema competition section of the 66th TIFF!

The pioneering competition section Immersive: All around Cinema embraces films that make use of the most up-to-date technologies to unveil different aspects of an extended reality, paving new ways for the perception and interpretation of both the moving image and the art of cinema. The movies taking part in the Immersive section set their eyes on the Golden Alexander Immersive, accompanied by a cash prize of 2,000 euros. 

The 66th TIFF’s Immersive: All around Cinema competition section includes eight films that develop and unfold a series of topics, crafting brave new worlds that take us on a journey towards an undefined future, while echoing fears and anxieties of our times. Coping with grief and loss, the pent-up rage of a younger generation feeling left out, the satirical demystification of modern corporate culture, the philosophical exploration of the Far East religions, a homage to German Expressionism in cinema and the clash between tradition and modernity are among the key themes of this year’s lineup. The films of the Immersive: All around Cinema competition section will be screened in a specially configured venue at the ground floor of Warehouse C (Pier A - Port of Thessaloniki) for the entire duration of the Festival (30/10-09/11/2024), with daily working hours from 1pm to 9pm. 

In addition, within the framework of the 66th TIFF the art installation Drinking Brecht, created by multimedia artist Sister Sylvester and produced by Onassis ONX (Onassis eXtended Realities), will be showcased out of competition and with a free admission for the public.  

Using DNA extracted from a hat worn by actors in Bertolt Brecht’s Berliner Ensemble, Drinking Brecht is a hybrid blend of automated laboratory performance and illustrated essay, which explores the past and present of genetics and synthetic biology. A documentary that you can drink, the work ingests worn-out scientific narratives and turns them into a marxist-feminist ritual, and a celebration of science for the people. Paying homage to Brecht’s “Scientific Theater,” which endeavored to spark revolution, Drinking Brecht is an innovative interactive documentary using microbiology and genetics to merge past and present.

In the worlds of the artist: “It’s a documentary that you can drink, the work ingests worn-out scientific narratives and turns them into a Marxist-feminist ritual, and a celebration of science for the people.” The art installation Drinking Brecht will be showcased at the Port of Thessaloniki, at the West Guardhouse  of Gate 1, for the entire duration of the 66th TIFF, from 30/10/2025 to 09/11/2025.

Who Is Sister Sylvester: 

Sister Sylvester is a multimedia artist based in New York and Istanbul. In collaboration with Deniz Tortum, she created the VR documentary Shadowtime (2023), which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, and the film Our Ark (2021), which premiered at IDFA (2021). She creates visual essays and books that become performances and spatial narratives, playing with spoken and written text to create communal reading experiences. One of her most recent works is Constantinopoliad (2023), commissioned by the Onassis Foundation, which premiered at National Sawdust in NYC (2023). She is a current resident at Onassis ONX (New York). 

The Immersive: All around Cinema competition jury is composed of: 

Myriam Achard, Head of new media partnerships and public relations at PHI

Maria Kouzinopoulou, journalist

Marina Vranopoulou, art curator and founder of “Dio Horia” art gallery.

Let’s take a glance at the Immersive: All around Cinema competition films:

A Long Goodbye 

Kate Voet, Victor Maes

Belgium-Luxembourg-The Netherlands, 2025, 35΄

A Long Goodbye tells the story of Ida, a 72-year-old pianist living with dementia. In this animated, interactive VR experience, we walk in Ida’s shoes. We experience a day in her life, as her reality is fading. The apartment, where she spent a lifetime with her beloved husband Daniel, first feels empty and undefined. When we interact with objects and play the tape recordings of her husband, her playful world gradually comes to life, as if drawn in paint before our eyes. Like pieces of a puzzle, memories and conversations help Ida to rediscover herself. But we also discover Daniel’s struggles, as he hopes to stay connected and realises their remaining time together may be short. A Long Goodbye is a poetic experience about the impact of dementia, but above all it is about love and the long goodbye of two lovers who shared a life together.

lichtung

Aria Wolf 

Germany, 2025, 9΄

You enter a calm yet unfamiliar world, lying dormant as you arrive. As you explore its surroundings, the world gradually opens up, revealing its light. The more you engage with it, the more you become enveloped in a soothing yet lively awakening, full of surprises.

Sense of Nowhere

Hsin-Hsuan Yeh

Taiwan-Finland-Belgium-Portugal, 2025, 30΄

A woman is generating her ideas on the bus until she comes back to the present. Where do we go when we zone out, and how do we return? Sense of Nowhere is a journey from no-where to now-here, blending Taoism, Buddhism, and Jungian imagination. Fragmented sounds and visuals invite the audience to explore the subconscious and slowly find their way back to the present moment.

The Exploding Girl

Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel

France-Greece, 2025, 18΄

For the past three months, Candice has been exploding every day. Sometimes even two or three times a day. Her record is seven times. She currently has 192 explosions. Through a visceral VR spectacle, a visionary directorial duo from France portrays Candice’s unstoppable anger as a haunting reflection of a world on edge; an experience that captures the anger of an entire generation facing helplessness and collapse, while pushing the boundaries of cinematic language and emotional immersion.

The Gate

Anisha Kornips

Germany, 2025, 25΄

In a ruined and forgotten landscape, two border outposts are separated by a creaking gate. After countless years of loneliness, the old and nihilistic watchman Hugo is taken by surprise by the arrival of the young and disciplined Didot on the other side of the border. Will the dark past repeat itself? A whimsical, mesmerising glimpse of the dark European past with a new vision, immersing us in the cinematic world of German expressionism.

The Great Escape

Joren Vandenbroucke

Belgium, 2025, 25΄ 

In The Great Escape, three bored geraniums sit on Patrick’s windowsill, yearning for the world outside while he remains trapped in routine. When they steal his new smartphone and lure a plant swap, freedom finally comes. But so do harsh truths, an existential crisis, and a surprising new home.

The Sad Story of The Little Mouse who Wanted to Become Somebody

Nicolas Bourniquel

France-Germany-Belgium, 2025, 27΄

Once upon a time, there was a little mouse who worked relentlessly to achieve a single goal: becoming somebody. Driven only by her ambition, she slowly became mean and arrogant, pushing away everyone else. Until one day, she accepted a job offer from the most prolific toymaker in the world: Santa Claus. The little mouse was about to find out that climbing the corporate ladder was not all that she hoped it would be… The sad story of the little mouse who wanted to become somebody is a biting satire of corporate life in the form of a VR Christmas tale.

Xian’er (Chinese Immortals) 

Zhou Fang

China, 2025, 14΄

Chinese immortals descend to a glitching, digitally scanned world, competing to inhabit statues that mirror China’s collapsing class mobility, pragmatic faith, and viral worship culture. Each statue reflects a social stratum – from state power to forgotten rural elders. A VR fable where traditional culture collides and coexists with modernity.