Chinese VR production stuns audiences at Venice Film Festival

7/9/2025 5:50

Audiences at the ongoing 82nd Venice International Film Festival experienced a Chinese classic uniquely as they donned virtual reality (VR) headsets to enter a story inspired by the Chinese classic opera The Peony Pavilion on an island near Venice Lido.

The Peony Pavilion tells a love story that transcends time and space, life and death.

The production, titled Mnemosyne, blends virtual reality with live performance. As the VR story concluded, two characters materialized on stage, stepping out of the digital world and into reality, stunning the audience.

The work is among several Chinese projects featured in the Venice Immersive section, which showcases cutting-edge creations in VR, augmented reality, and mixed reality. Thirty entries are competing for the top prize in this category.

Michel Reilhac, consultant for Venice Immersive, said Chinese immersive works successfully merge history with modernity, helping international audiences connect with Chinese culture. "It feels like a dream made with traditional elements, but also very contemporary, which makes me, as a Westerner, really dream as if I were in China," he noted.

Another consultant, Liz Rosenthal, praised the sophistication of Chinese entries, saying some present "incredibly high resolution and cinematic storytelling, showing a spectacular example of cinema in massive spatial environments."

Launched in 2017, Venice Immersive has developed into one of the world's largest showcases of its kind and remains an official section of the Venice Film Festival.