This is a critics roundtable for Venice Immersive 2023 featuring Pola Weiß, a funding executive for XR and new technologies Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, as well as Alina Mikhaleva who produces virtual events at EngageXR heads up a Creative XR Studio called Less Media Group, Agnese Pietrobon who is a writer at XR Must, storylistener and independent researcher, and myself, Kent Bye of the Voices of VR Podcast. See more context in the rough transcript below.

Here's a list of all 35 podcasts in this Venice Immersive 2023 series (as well as 4 interviews of projects where I've previously interviewed the creators)

#1270: Preview of Venice Immersive 2023 Selection with Co-Curators Liz Rosenthal & Michel Reilhac

[SXSW] #1189: "Forager" Volumetric Timelapse of Mushroom Growth Hits a Sweet Spot of Touch, Smell, & Immersive Storytelling

[SXSW] #1203: "Body of Mine VR" Uses Full-Body Tracking Embodiment to Explore Gender Dysphoria & Transgender Testimonies

[Tribeca] #1243: Origin Story of "Pixel Ripped 1978" with ARVORE and Atari Team + Novel Game-Within-a-Game Mechanics

[Tribeca] #1250: Translating 1:1 Experimental Theatre Encounters into 360 Video to Transcend Expectations with Craig Quintero

#1272: Kickoff of Venice Immersive 2023 Coverage with Winner “Songs by a Passerby” and Atmospheric Storytelling

#1273: Switching First and Third Person POV with “Finally Me” Coming Out Story

#1274: “Queer Utopia: Act I Cruising” Explores Queer Identity, Exile, AIDS, & Sex in the 80s

#1275: Translating 2D Paintings in Immersive Biography with “Frequency”

#1276: Beautiful “Emperor” Explores Aphasia Communication Gaps with Compelling Interactions

#1277: A Vocal Landscape is an Intimate Study of Authentic Conversation and Surrealism

#1278: Visualizing the Invisible and Pushing Forward the Grammar of Visual Storytelling with “Flow”

#1279: “Home” Explores Human Nature Relationship with Visceral Projection Mapped Installation

#1280: Interactive Projection Mapped Installation “Populate” Poetically Explores the Human Nature Dialectic

#1281: The Many Movie Magic Techniques Behind “David Attenborough’s Conquest of the Skies”

#1282: Ethnographic Study of South Korean Studio Apartments with “Oneroom-Babel”

#1283: The Exquisite Lighting in Fins’ “Complex 7” VRChat World

#1284: Gina Kim’s Environmental Storytelling Innovations with “Comfortless”

#1285: PK’s Break Series in VRChat Explores the Intersection of Shaders and Indie Music

#1286: Capturing the Horrors of the Ukrainian War in “First Day” with High-Res Environmental Captures

#1287: “Letters from Drancy” is an Incredibly Emotional and Powerful Story About the Holocaust

#1288: “Tales of the March” Uses Durational Takes in 360 Video to Explore Death Marches

#1289: “Sen” Is a Beautifully Transcendent Virtual Japanese Tea Ceremony Exploring Reincarnation

#1290: “Floating with Spirits” Explores the Day of the Dead, Indigenous Transmissions, & Elemental Animism

#1291: Excellent Redirected Wandering to Discover Indigenous Transmissions in “Origen”

#1292: Pioneering the VR Essay with “Shadowtime” Critiquing Sci-Fi Dystopic Aspirations of VR

#1293: The Personalized AI-Driven “Tulpamancer” VR Sandpaintings with AI Text to Audio & VR Workflow

#1294: Buddy Comedy “Gargoyle Doyle” Pushes at the Edges of Mixed Reality Storytelling

#1295: The AR Pop-Up Book Innovations of “Jim Henson’s The Storyteller” & Amazing Shot of Earth in “The Orbit”

#1296: “Wallace & Gromit in the Grand Getaway” Translating Big IP Narrative & Animation Rules into VR

#1297: Studio Syro’s Groundbreaking Quill Series “Tales from Soda Island”

#1298: The Story Behind “Pepitos: the Beak Saga” Quill Piece

#1299: Character-Driven Quill Animation Piece “Perennials” Explores Nostalgia and Family Dynamics

#1300: Prolific Meta XR Producer Ryan Genji Thomas on VR Storytelling Innovations with Animation

#1301: “Gaudi,