NewImages XR Market Leads the Way Internationally

Along with the wider festival, the commercial section of NewImages has become an event in itself , hosting a global who's who of the XR scene while also helping to largely reshape the terrain. Expecting nearly 250 attendees, split roughly evenly between market players and top decision makers, this year's all-in-person event isn't expected to do much to reverse that trend. /p>

"We are very international," says XR Market Manager Ellen Kuo. “With over half of our attendees coming from outside Europe, and several coming from the UK, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Poland, I call [our network ] Paris beyond Paris."

Drivers for this year's strong turnout are the XR Development Market for projects from earlier phases and the XR Art Fair for those completing a festival run and looking for distribution - although, as it accounts for 70% of NewImages' market activity, the dev expo is clearly the biggest draw.

"Coming here is the entry point for non-European content producers," says Kuo. “The construction sites in progress come to Paris because France is the leading country in terms of resources. From accomplished producers to tech startups to smart distributors, France has the most developed immersive industry."

This year's dev market highlights 45 projects selected by Kuo and his team, with a preponderance of titles from France, Taiwan and Canada reflect the three countries where XR investments are thriving the most. As for other trends revealed by the various projects, the organizers of NewImages find a number of common themes.

"XR has always been used to tell stories that aren't seen in mainstream content" , says project manager Manon Blot. "For example, we saw a number that dealt with incarceration, including two that tracked the experiences of incarcerated women with children, and that's not a topic you see very often."

"Breathe" Michael Kolchesky

Along with projects that explore elements of the LGTBQ+ experience, Blot and Kuo also note an increase in personal documentaries exploring personal stories, citing titles like Michael Kolchesky's childbirth documentary "Breathe" and Sam Butin's family saga "Normandy" as two illustrative examples.

While Kolchesky's mixed reality documentary incorporates 360 footage of his own medical experience with CGI recreations and spatial sound, Booty's first-person shot combines interactive gameplay with a documentary twist to explore the tense journey of his ancestors as they fled Nazi Europe.

"We don't just watch 360° movies anymore" , says Blot . "Instead, these creators make people feel like they're part of the experience."

More than 100 projects will participate in this year's XR Art Fair...