Still: Lacuna - Maartje Wegdam & Nienke Huitenga Broeren

Several of the selected works continue an international festival journey after acclaimed world premieres. Lacuna by Maartje Wegdam and Nienke Huitenga Broeren, which premiered last year in the Cannes Immersive Competition, invites audiences into an intimate VR documentary inspired by forgotten childhood memories. Produced by Podium Biarritz, Lacuna is a deeply personal reflection on loss, resilience and the stories we construct around our past.

Also returning from Cannes International Film Festival 2025 is From Dust, the groundbreaking VR opera by Michel van der Aa. Winner of the Best Immersive Work Award in Cannes, the installation creates a unique performance for every visitor, using artificial intelligence to tailor the experience to each participant. Performed by the renowned vocal ensemble Sjaella and produced by the doubleA foundation, From Dust pushes the boundaries of opera, technology and personal storytelling.

Stories of resilience take centre stage in Shelter, a virtual reality documentary directed by Sjors Swierstra and Ivanna Khitsinska. The film offers an intimate and deeply human perspective on life in wartime Ukraine, immersing viewers in moments of everyday life shaped by conflict. From a tender conversation between pregnant women in an underground maternity ward in Kyiv and the funeral of a fallen soldier in Lviv, to soldiers preparing near the frontline and a symphony orchestra performing in a basement in Kharkiv, Shelter reveals both the fragility and resilience of people living through war.

Munich Beyond also welcomes The Great Orator by Daniël Ernst, which premiered in the Venice Immersive Competition. Produced by The Shoebox Diorama, the nonlinear VR experience invites visitors into a constantly shifting landscape of memories, guided by a former television medium. As participants influence the unfolding narrative, the work explores the fragile nature of memory, truth and perception.

Another Venice success returning to audiences is A Long Goodbye by Kate Voet and Victor Maes. This animated interactive VR experience places visitors in the shoes of Ida, a 72-year-old pianist living with dementia, creating a poignant portrait of love, memory and gradual farewell. The Dutch co-production by Valk Productions received the Achievement Award at Venice before earning another award at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, among others. International sales are handled by Astrea Immersive.

The programme also highlights new forms of collective participation. Show Me the Light - VR Silent Disco by Mila Moleman, created by Studio VRij in collaboration with Brass Rave Unit, transforms virtual reality into a shared dance floor where up to ten participants come together through music, movement and playful interaction, demonstrating the social potential of immersive technologies.

Completing the Dutch selection is Dancing with Dead Animals by animation artist Maarten Isaäk de Heer. Produced by Menetekel Film, the project grew from the artist's fascination with the countless dead animals he encountered over the course of a spring and summer - from tiny fruit flies to mice brought home by his cat. The resulting immersive experience offers a surprising and poetic meditation on mortality, observation and humanity's place within nature.

Find out more about Munich Beyond through this link.