Artist and engineer Rio Nakada (19 years old) has had his autobiographical immersive film “Nox,” which he directed and developed, officially selected for the “Immersive Venice” competition section of the 83rd International Venice Festival Film.
“Nox” is an autobiographical immersive film that depicts the director’s own experiences with complex PTSD and dissociative disorder from the perspective of someone who has experienced it. It uses Meta Quest 3 hand tracking and is experienced with bare hands without the use of controllers. The approximately 20-minute film follows three phases: “collapse,” “fragmentation,” and “reintegration,” through 13 scenes and 5 types of interactions.
Rio Nakada experienced long-term truancy throughout elementary, middle, and high school. During his time at home, he self-taught himself programming, video production, and computer graphics, deepening his interest in technology and expression. His predecessor interactive art piece, “Tactus,” was presented orally at the NICOGRAPH2024 Society Japan for Art and Science, where it won the Exhibition Demo Award. He is currently enrolled in the Faculty of Environment and Studies Information at University Keio.
The Venice International Film Festival is organized by the Venice Biennale, an international comprehensive arts organization founded in 1895. Established in 1932, it is the world’s oldest international film festival and one of the world’s three major film festivals, alongside the Cannes and Berlin International Film Festivals. “Venice Immersive” is an official section specializing in immersive expression, including XR, and accepts works in a wide range of formats, from video works to installations.
In a comment, Nakadario stated that Nox was born from his own experience of being deeply hurt by prolonged stress. He also said that it is a work dedicated to all those who are suffering from emotional wounds.
The production team of ‘Nox’ will soon be launching a crowdfunding campaign on CAMPFIRE to raise funds for travel to Venice and the necessary expenses for the exhibition there.
Venice Immersive 2026 Overview
| Event period | September 2-12, 2026 (Preview on the afternoon of September 1) |
| venue | Lazzaretto Vecchio Island (3 minutes by vaporetto from Lido Island) |
| Number of selected works | 68 works (26 countries) |
| Competition Section | 30 films (22 world premieres, 8 international premieres) |
| Non-competition category | 35 works (9 Best of Experiences, 26 Best of Worlds) |
| Head of Jury | Raphael Paul (Co-founder of Felix & Studios Paul) |
| Accreditation | 2-day pass: 40 euros / 5-day pass: 60 euros / 11-day pass: 100 euros (for ages 18 and over) |
| Official website | https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2026/venice-immersive-accreditation |
This article is an English translation of an original Japanese article, translated by the Mogura VR editorial team.
Reference
https://www.labiennale.org/en/news/venice-immersive-selection-and-competition-announced-0
