The MINIMUM MASS team had the opportunity to travel to France a few weeks ago to participate in the inaugural Cannes XR Program. As part of the storied and historic Cannes Film Festival, this was an amazing chance to understand how interactive, real-time, and narrative storytelling are converging with the screen sector. Cannes offered a glimpse not only into the cultural shift away from 2-D storytelling, but also the immense complexity of funding and distribution models for XR narratives.

Currently, publicly funded film commissions in Europe, Canada, and New Zealand seem to be leading the way with international co-production opportunities. Interactive and tech companies are treading more cautiously into the space. Rene Pinnell’s work around funding models that incorporate Fine Art schemes inspired much discussion and promise alternative approaches to what is still a very experimental field.

Rene’s company Kaleidoscope, also partnered with Cannes XR to present three Showcases for XR work. MINIMUM MASS was featured in the AR Showcase. I presented our current development cycle, where we’re heading over the next year, and what kind of funding and partnerships we’re seeking. The room was packed and the crowd was really enthusiastic. Afterwards, I was able to walk a lot of folks through our vertical slice. The feedback I received was incredible—there’s no substitute for a smart highly engaged user base.

On the whole, Cannes XR felt pretty experimental. I got the sense that traditional film folks were intrigued by the XR nerds, but were still trying to make sense of how our work fits into the bigger picture in terms of capturing audiences and monetization. For me, the best part was connecting with an international community of smart, talented, and highly engaged XR creators.

Special thanks to the New Zealand Film Commission and Victoria University of Wellington for funding me to travel all the way from Wellington to Cannes!