Photo: Nu:Reality

It’s three years now since distributor Babette Wijntjes (Cassette) established the pioneering VR platform, Nu:Reality. The idea was to showcase VR work in three Dutch cinemas: Lantaren Venster in Rotterdam, the LUX in Nijmegen, and the Schuur in Haarlem.

“In the immersive community, creators were really taking strides, making wonderful content. Funders were embracing this new way of storytelling. The problem was…distribution!” Wijntjes explains the thinking behind the venture.

The main aim of the pilot project (launched in 2022) was simply to get the work in front of audiences. “People liked it, and we also realised that 98% of the people that came had never seen VR!”

Now, there are plans to export the idea. “We will start next year in France,” says Wijntjes. The Gallic scheme will be called Territoires Immersifs and has received government backing through the France 2030 plan.

It is hoped to take Nu:Reality to several Belgian sites next year too. Wijntjes outlines how the Nu:Reality empire will grow:

“Our aim is to have a European model that will make it easier for cinemas and other venues to use VR. The more locations you have, the lower the costs become.”

In the long run, Nu:Reality could even potentially be offered to mainstream multiplexes - although Wijntjes makes it clear there will be no compromises on the programming. The main emphasis, though, is on smaller cinema operators who would otherwise find VR too daunting and expensive to accommodate.  “The quality and the storytelling is getting better every year,” the VR pioneer enthuses.

For practical reasons, Nu:Reality shows 360° films on a larger scale than the interactive works. The idea is that spectators can sit together in a cinema auditorium wearing their individual headsets and have a collective experience with shared sound.

Each cinema is equipped with 30 ‘Pico’ headsets (expensive items of hi-tech hardware which may cost several hundred euros but allow viewers to plunge into brave new worlds).

In the Netherlands, cinemas tickets cost 10 euros for each (approximate) 35-minute session. Most venues also have two interactive stations placed in the foyer. (Here, viewers can watch some of the ground-breaking work that had won prizes at events like Venice Immersive or IDFA DocLab).

Screenings so far have been organised around themes. ‘Journeys Beyond Belief’ allowed viewers to climb the highest mountains and plumb the depths of the oceans. Meanwhile, ‘Inner Journey’ featured the most intimate and personal stories.

“We offered a whole package to make it easy for the [cinema] partners - the equipment, the curation of the programme, we took care of the licenses, trained the staff, and we took charge of the marketing campaign,” Wijntjes explains.

The second edition was expanded to include four more cinemas: Filmhuis Den Haag, Eye Filmmuseum, Concordia and Slachtstraat, making it seven in total. The ‘Nature’ programme, which included the David Attenborough documentary First Life, is the most successful shown so far, posting an impressive 8,000 admissions in all. Another new venue has also set to join, Natlab in Eindhoven for the third edition.

Ask Wijntjes about the profile of the audience and she acknowledges it was a slight surprise. “Let’s be honest - cinemas want to embrace it [VR] because they also want to reach a younger audience. Which we indeed reach. But funnily enough, according to the surveys we did, most of the visitors were women above 40…”

When asked what’s behind the trend, the Cassette founder speculates about the adventurousness of the women audience members. “They’re not cynical, and they go out more. They’re interested in having an emotional immersive journey, and have less interest how everything works technically.”

Leading Paris-based VR distributor Diversion, founded by Camille Lopato, came on board as a partner at an early stage. “They [Diversion] handled the whole technical side; they trained the staff; and together with us, they did the curation. We trust each other like crazy.”

Now, Nu:Reality is about to start its third edition on October 9 with a showcase of Dutch VR artists. Titles screening in the ‘From Our Own Soil ‘ season include such gems as Steye Hallema’s The Imaginary Friend and Tibor de Jong’s 8 Billion Selves.

Wijntjes points out that this remains a ground-breaking initiative. It’s the first European attempt at establishing a commercially viable releasing model for the best VR projects.

Nu: Reality received support in its first year through Europa Cinemas’ Collaborate to Innovate programme, backed by Creative Europe/MEDIA. The second edition was underwritten by the Netherlands Film Fund and Cultuurloket Digitall (who are also backing the third edition).

Now, through Nu: Reality on Tour, an initiative due to start in November, VR will also be sampled by audiences at festivals and cinemas right across the Netherlands.

“Three years ago, we were knocking on doors. We really had to work hard and to be very convincing. We had a lot of ‘no’s’ but, now, we have the feeling that financial partners, funds and potential investors are aware that VR could be a focus point…what we do doesn’t exist anywhere else – but we know we are on the right track.”