Belfast XR Festival 2024

Belfast XR Festival (BXRF) is an annual gathering for the XR arts - storytelling, visual arts, music, drama, dance, literature and theatre. 

It showcases a rich selection of experiences from creators working at the forefront of XR which includes 360 film, interactive virtual and augmented reality and screen based installations.

BXRF highlights the enormous diversity and vibrancy of the ever-growing international immersive and expanded realities arts scene, from high-profile international filmmakers who are experimenting with new technologies, to new works from some of the most exciting emerging talent in the field. 

Each year’s programme will consider specific pertinent issues of our time from a hugely diverse range of perspectives and art forms.

For more information follow Belfast XR Festival on social media or go to belfastxrfestival.com 

• ETERNAL/DARKFIELD

“I want you to believe...to believe in things that you cannot” ― Bram Stoker 

You have been chosen and we thank you for your sacrifice. 

In return we offer you the opportunity of immortality - but there are conditions. You could, of course, wait to see what the future might bring. 

You could take your chances on a cure for ageing and death. 

The cure is coming - but it is not coming fast enough for you. 

ETERNAL is a 20 minute immersive audio experience for one person, alone in their bed. It explores the quandary of eternal life and wonders what price you would settle for to achieve it. 

ETERNAL was commissioned by Bram Stoker Festival, and has since run digitally on DARKFIELD Radio and as a physical installation at Centre Phi, Montreal, Luxembourg City Film Festival and Wales Millenium Centre, Cardiff. ETERNAL is suitable for those 16+.

• GAUDI

Immerse yourself in Gaudi's work for a 20 minute experience, designed for 6 people moving freely in a shared space. A magical tale and a cultural journey.

1926. Weakened by age and feeling his death approaching, Gaudí invites his new assistants to discover his studio, to understand his vision and complete his work. 

Slipping into the costume of a disciple and guided by the voice of Gaudí himself, you will be immersed in the architect’s extraordinary mind, his revolutionary working method and his abundant universe. Visitors will understand Gaudi and, eventually, be able to continue his work and pursue his dream of completing the monument to which he dedicated his life: the Sagrada Familia.

Gaudí, The Atelier of the Divine takes you into the mind of the famous architect. Through the exceptional reconstruction of the atelier (workshop), which burned down in 1936, visitors can embark on a narrative journey into the unique psyche of the Catalan master.

Please note: this event is rated 16+

• STAY ALIVE, MY SON

PLEASE NOTE: This experience deals with issues relating to the Cambodian genocide and viewer discretion is advised. 

Transpiring over 45 years and based on the internationally acclaimed memoirs of Pin Yathay, “Tu Vivras Mon Fils” (Stay Alive My Son) is an epic, immersive, and cinematic experience that places audiences in the shoes of a pained father, who was forced to make the gut-wrenching decision to abandon his 6 year old son to survive during the Cambodian genocide.

The Player meets a fragile 80-year-old man, represented by a hyper-realistic digital human, only to discover the demons that haunt him from his past. The Player transforms into him. In a gripping “Alice In Wonderland” moment, the Player falls through reality and begins a fantastical and personal journey for atonement.

Landing in the cavernous bowels of his labyrinth mental prison, we learn about the history of Cambodia and bear witness to Yathay’s deepest regrets. By reliving and confronting the past, the Player experiences decades of guilt for decisions made and anguish from the uncertainty of his son’s whereabouts. On a mythical branch, the Player is taken to a shadowed heart, metaphorically represented by the wondrous temple of Angkor Wat, to find salvation and heal. Ultimately, the Player realises Yathay’s resilience by enduring the unimaginable was fueled by a deeper purpose: to reclaim all that he lost by living.

Please note: this event is rated 16+

Stay Alive, My Son is more than a movie; it's an interactive odyssey and emotional journey of the heart.

PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST PURCHASE A TICKET THROUGH EVENTBRITE FOR AN ALLOCATED TIMESLOT!