PiXii Festival Unveils Official Selection

PiXii Festival, which runs alongside Sunny Side of the Doc, has revealed its official selection for its sixth edition.

The selected XR works will go on display around different cultural and heritage sites across La Rochelle, France, from June 18 to 23. This year, eight monuments will host immersive experiences: La Tour De La Chaîne (Centre Des Monuments Nationaux), The Natural History Museum, Le Musée Du Nouveau Monde, La Rochelle City Hall, La Maison Henri II (Centre Intermondes), Saint-Sauveur church, the forecourt of Espace Encan and the Tourist Information Center.

The PiXii Festival official selection for 2022 includes A Colonia Luxenburguesa, produced by Samsa Film (Video Mapping, Connected Objects, Mixed Reality; Musée du Nouveau Monde); Genesis, produced by Faber Courtial—Studio For Digital Worlds (Virtual Reality
; Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle
); Hydrocosmos, produced by Tecnologia Filosofica (Virtual Reality
; Centre Intermondes—Maison Henri II
); The Little Dancer, produced by Lucid Realities (Augmented Reality
; Tour de la Chaine
); The Starry Sand Beach, produced by Lucid Realities (Virtual Reality; Muséum D’Histoire Naturelle
); Myriad, Where We Connect, produced by Interactive Media Foundation gGmbH, Filmtank GmbH, Miiqo Studios, Artificial Rome (360° 3D Documentary, Virtual Reality
; Centre Intermondes—Maison Henri II
); Colored, produced by Novaya (Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, Spatialized Sound
; Musée du Nouveau Monde)
; Plastic on the Ganges, produced by National Geographic Society Impact Media Lab (Virtual Reality, Spatialized Sound
; Office de Tourisme
); Suppliques Stories, produced by Générale de production (Mixed Reality
; Hôtel de Ville de La Rochelle
); and The Choice, produced by Infinite Frame Media (Hologram, Virtual Reality, Spatialized Sound; Hôtel de Ville de La Rochelle
.

Several installations will also be presented out of competition during the festival: The Dawn of Art, an exploration of Chauvet cave 36,000 years ago; Notre Dame de Paris VR, a journey back in time created by Ubisoft to tour the cathedral from different angles; Mona Lisa: Beyond the Glass, the first VR experience to be presented to the public by the Louvre; and MySmartJourney, which sees each tour location feature a QR code that visitors can scan to access original content related to the different sites and installations.

An international festival for digital cultures, PiXii is free and open to all.

In partnership with Fisheye and RMN Grand-Palais, the 2022 edition of PiXii Festival will be twinned with the second edition of Palais Augmenté, which will be held in Paris at the Grand Palais Ephémère from June 17 to 19. Certain XR works can be experienced from both La Rochelle and Paris at the same time.

Stéphane Malagnac, head of innovation and PiXii Festival, said: “PiXii wants to be the echo chamber of the upheavals in our society, in synergy with Sunny Side of the Doc, the international marketplace for documentary, which is held at the same time. This year’s official selection and the works presented out of competition also reflect what’s going on in the world: the climate emergency, pollution, social decline, the digitalization of our world… Immersive technology helps us get a better understanding of these issues and more, with a more sensitive approach and delivering a greater impact.”

Déborah Papiernik, senior VP in charge of partnerships and strategic alliances at Ubisoft, said: “By offering to install XR experiences in the heart of La Rochelle’s cultural venues, PiXii is fulfilling its mission to spread knowledge to the general public. In 2021, Lady Sapiens and Georges Méliès: Fantaisies Virtuelles were on the program and this year again, Ubisoft is present via the Notre-Dame VR experience.”