VR FILM FESTIVALS 2020
Dates and deadlines for creative cinematic 360/VR/AR/XR projects in 2020 — Festivals, Awards, Conferences, Exhibitions, Showcases!|
This material continues the research started in 2018 (VR Film Festivals/Awards Calendar 2018) and 2019 (360/VR Cinema Festival Deadlines). We’ve seen waves of interest in spring/fall seasons as well as many festivals contacted us to add/correct information about their events. So for this year we’ll try to keep the post updated throughout a year, helping both creatives and festivals to get the best out of this incredible and quite specific genre.
Major problem, however, is to determine whether a curated exhibition or showcase is worth adding for international audience – and the short answer is “yes”. Try to find information about curator and contact them to discuss possibility of showcasing your work and start to learn those people by name — there are much less VR/XR Festival programmers and curators than in traditional film and most of them could be found at major VR Cinematic Events.
The easiest way to check the calendar or the deadlines — is just to go to this Google Spreadsheet and check “VR FILM FESTIVAL 2020 Calendar” or “VR FILM FESTIVAL SUBMISSION Calendar” Tab.
If you want to update/correct/add information — please contact us at email vrfilmfest@gmail.com
2020 VR FILM FESTIVALS SUBMISSIONS CALENDAR
Last updated 30/01/2020
Sandbox Immersive Festival
Dates of event: 22.06–28.06.2020
Web-site: http://www.sandboxif.com/
Place: Qingdao, China
Deadline: 24.05.2020
Raindance Film Festival
Dates of event: 29.10–08.11.2020
Web-site: https://www.raindance.org/festival/virtual-reality-submissions/
Place: London, UK
Deadlines:
24.04.2020 // £25
15.05.2020 // £35
29.05.2020 // £50
Bucheon international Fantastic Film Festival // Beyond Reality
Dates of event: 09.07–16.07.2020
Web-site: https://www.bifan.kr/eng
Place: Bucheon, South Korea
Deadline: 24.05.2020
La Biennale di Venezia // Venice VR
Dates of event: 02.09–12.09.2020
Web-site: https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema
Place: Venice, Italy
Deadlines: 31.05.2020 (VR Competition, Gap Financing Market)
VIRTUAL WORLDS Awards
VR ARLES Festival
360 Film Festival
IDFA Doc Lab
Other festivals that will happen in 2020 but have closed their submissions and soon will start new season of submissions:
Sundance Film Festival // New Frontier
Dates of event: 23.01–02.02.2020
Web-site: https://www.sundance.org/festival/
Place: Park City, USA
Submissions to the 2021 Festival will open on May 1, 2020
Cinequest Film&Creativity Festival
Dates of event: 03.03–15.03.2020
Web-site: https://www.cinequest.org/
Place: San Jose, USA
Submissions for 2021 will begin in May 2020
SXSW (South by South West)
Dates of event: 13.03–22.03.2020
Web-site: https://www.sxsw.com/exhibitions/virtual-cinema/
Place: Austin, USA
17.10.2019 was Late Deadline for 2020 Edition
Tribeca Film Festival // Tribeca Immersive
Dates of event: 15.04–26.04.2020
Web-site: https://www.tribecafilm.com/festival/
Place: New York, USA
02.12.2019 / $80 was Late Deadline for 2020 Edition
Atlanta Film Festival
Dates of event: 30.04–10.05.2020
Web-site: https://www.atlantafilmfestival.com/
Place: Atlanta, USA
14.11.2019/$35 was Late Deadline for 2020 Edition
Passed Deadlines:
LAVAL VIRTUAL // Recto VRso // Laval Virtual Awards
Dates of event: 22.04–24.04.2020
Web-site: https://www.laval-virtual.com/
Place: Laval, France
Deadlines:
21.01.2020 // Recto VRso
21.01.2020 // Laval Virtual Awards
LICHTER // VR Storytelling Award
Dates of event: 21.04–26.04.2020
Web-site: https://lichter-filmfest.de/en/
Place: Frankfurt, Germany
Deadlines: 31.01.2020, no entry fee
Cannes XR Development Showcase
Dates of event: 12.05–17.05.2020
Web-site: https://www.kaleidoscope.fund/event/cannes-xr-development-showcase/allevents
Place: Cannes, France
Deadlines: 04.02.2020 (submission through KALEIDOSCOPE)
VR!HAM Virtual Reality & Arts Festival
Dates of event: 07.06–15.06.2019
Web-site: https://www.vrham.de/
Place: Hamburg, Germany
Deadlines: 09.02.2020, no entry fee
SIGGRAPH 2020
Dates of event: 19.07–23.07.2020
Web-site: https://s2020.siggraph.org/submissions/
Place: Washington DC, USA
Deadline: 11.02.2020
Sheffield Doc/Fest // Alternate Realities + Alternate Realities Talent Market
Dates of event: 04.06–09.06.2020
Web-site: https://sheffdocfest.com
Place: Sheffield, UK
Deadlines:
Regular Deadline: 14.02. 2020 — £25 + VAT
Late Deadline: 02.03.2020, £35 + VAT
Alternate Realities Talent Market Deadline — 14.02.2020, £26+VAT
GoEast // Open Frame Award
Dates of event: 05.05–11.05.2020
Web-site: http://filmfestival-goeast.de
Place: Wiesbaden and Frankfurt, Germany
Deadline:
15.02.2020 (For Central and Eastern European VR projects only)
VR AT EFM // Berlinale
Berlin International Film Festival
Dates of event: 21.02–25.02.2020
VR NOW SUMMIT — 24.02.2020
Web-site: https://www.efm-berlinale.de/en/horizon/programme/vr-at-efm/content_initiative.html
Place: Berlin, Germany
Deadlines/Fees:
VR NOW SUMMIT — €175
Market badge for EFM — €350
EFM VR Cinema — €800 or €125 / screening for 1 project or €200 VR Library ParticipationIndustry Screenings // VR Now Conference
Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival
Dates of event: 07.04–19.04.2020
Web-site: https://www.bifff.net/regulations-submissions/
Place: Brussels, Belgium
Deadline: 28.02.2020 Please submit your project by sending a secure online link and some information (synopsis, press kit, reviews… if available) to Mari Pérez: mari@bifff.net
Cannes XR Marche du Film
Dates of event: 12.05–17.05.2020
Web-site: http://www.marchedufilm.com
Place: Cannes, France
Deadlines/Fees:
Join as an exhibitor (deadline: 2 March 2020)
Join as a visitor (1 March — € 319, regular € 369, on the spot € 433)
Organise or sponsor an event (deadline: 2 March 2020)
Animafest Zagreb
Dates of event: 08.06–13.06.2020
Web-site: http://www.animafest.hr/en/2020
Place: Zagreb, Croatia
Deadline: 15.03.2020 VR Animation Competition
Other festivals which will happen in 2020 and still don’t have information about 2020 edition or we haven’t updated them yet:
IVRPA 2019
NewImages Festival
Locarno International Film Festival
Australian Virtual Reality Film Festival
FIVARS
Vancouver Virtual Reality Film Festival
VIFF Immersed 2019
SITGES Cocoon (52 Festival Internacional de cinema fantastic de Catalynya)
Nashville Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival
Festival du Nouveau Cinema
Adelaide Film Festival
Kaohsiung Film Festival
Haifa International Film Festival // VR 2525
Astra Film Festival
The Byron Bay International Film Festival
Sao Paulo International Film Festival
Jihlava Documentary Film Festival
DOK Leipzig — Neuland
Hyper VR Festival
BARCELONA 360º VR AND AR MARKET
Geneva International Film Festival
Thessaloniki International Film Festival
LISTAPAD Minsk International Film Festival
Hawaii International Film Festival
Verzio International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival
VR Days
Kinetoscope VR Film Festival
Torino Short Film Market
Dubai International Film Festival
Stereopsia // Lumiere Award
As we told, this material would be updated as we are also creators and festival programmers and this information is quite useful for us to consider for our projects. Again, please contacts us at vrfilmfest@gmail.com for updates!