Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima is a member of the jury for this year’s Venice VR Expanded, an online portion of the Venice Film Festival.
While it appears parts of the festival are still going ahead on-location this year, the VR selection is moving entirely online. This was likely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; even if lockdown is easing across Europe, a VR-focused event where hundreds of users swap out the same headset still sounds like a big risk. It’s not yet clear how this will work, though some form of accreditation will be needed to view the projects online.
A total of 44 projects from 24 countries will be available to view from 2 – 12 September 2020. 31 of those will be in competition for a grand prize. Also joining Kojima on the jury this year is The Key creator, Celine Tricart, and Asif Kapadia, the director of Amy Winehouse documentary, Amy.
Kojima is renowned for his approach to storytelling in games, though notably hasn’t made a VR project himself yet. That said, he has had plenty to say on the new medium over the past few years, including some interesting comments on people’s approach to the platform. We’ve long hoped that the developer would dive into a VR game of his own.
Appearing in this year’s line up is Jon Favreau’s Gnomes and Goblins and Agence, two projects that made a splash at our VR Showcase: Summer Edition in June. Outside of the competition, there will also be a selection of games like Down The Rabbit Hole and The Room VR.
