Growing Stories – Expanding Worlds
The Hof International Film Festival has always been open to new forms of cinematic art. With XR (extended reality), the spectrum of storytelling is expanding to include immersive experiences that allow viewers to dive directly into the action.
Virtual reality, augmented reality, or mixed reality—XR creates spaces for experiences in which images, sound, and space merge into an intense overall experience. Stories are no longer just viewed, but lived through.
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Overview
In line with this year’s festival motto “HoF – The Place to Grow,” Hof sees itself as a breeding ground for these new forms of storytelling: a space where artistic experiments can flourish, where technologies are not only tested but also enter into creative dialogue with the audience.
This year’s projects presented in the festival hub make it clear that virtual spaces always raise real questions: childhood fantasies reflect our longing for lightheartedness, forces of nature allow us to feel the drama of climate change directly, and the village Mödlareuth, divided during the East German era, reminds us of borders that still have an impact today. And when avatars of guests and protagonists of the festival tell their stories about HoF, reality and digital doppelgängers blur into a shared dialogue. In this way, Hof becomes a place where virtual worlds grow—and at the same time, questions are asked that move us in reality.
Our thanks go to the Rainer Markgraf Foundation, XR HUB Bavaria, and FFF Bayern.
Supported by
Out of Nowhere
Our weather is becoming increasingly unpredictable. Everywhere. By protecting nature, we can protect ourselves.
Out of Nowhere is a 10-minute standalone virtual reality experience premiering at Venice Immersive in August 2025.
The interactive film gently explores how preserving riparian forests, swamps, and wetlands can help us meet the challenges of an increasingly extreme and unpredictable climate.
Told from the perspective of Anna, who has spent her entire life in Hallein, Austria, the experience begins with a personal memory of the devastating floods that ravaged Europe in 2021 and shows how reconnecting with nature can be the key to protecting our future.
La Petite Souris
Once upon a time, there was a little mouse who worked relentlessly to achieve a single goal: becoming somebody. Driven only by her ambition, she slowly became mean and arrogant, pushing away everyone else. Until one day, she accepted a job offer from the most prolific toymaker in the world: Santa Claus. The little mouse was about to find out that climbing the corporate ladder was not all that she had hoped it would be…
The sad story of the little mouse who wanted to become somebody is a biting satire of corporate life in the form of a VR Christmas tale.
Eddie and I
How do you overcome the fear of the unknown? Eight-year-old deaf Ron is scared of his first camping trip. His mother tries to calm him down and tells him, in sign language, the story of “Eddie the Camper,” a hairy monster who grew up in the forest and is the best friend for an adventure in nature. Despite her efforts, Ron’s fear of the camping trip persists.
However, after falling into a deep sleep, Ron wakes up in a surreal forest where he meets you, embodied as Eddie the Camper, and the two embark on an adventure. But only one barrier stands in the way: Ron can’t hear, and you don’t know sign language.
As you progress through the approximately 30-minute interactive experience, you will work with Ron to complete tasks, navigate the forest, and inadvertently learn sign language keywords along the way. Will you and Ron bridge the gap between the unfamiliar, overcome barriers of communication, and succeed on the adventure?
Mödlareuth VR
Mödlareuth, the “little Berlin” on the former inner-German border, remains a symbol of Germany’s division to this day. The newly designed Deutsch-Deutsches Museum brings this history to life.
A VR tour offers a special experience: after a six-minute introductory film, the tour takes visitors to the original locations. In eight scenes, visitors experience both historical events and everyday life in the divided village — and immerse themselves in history in a completely new way.
Filmpeople AR
Kollektiv17 presents an innovative augmented reality application that turns Filmtage visitors into active participants. Last year, faces were scanned, avatars created, and interviews recorded. These digital doppelgängers now tell the stories of the festival in an interactive AR environment—personally, directly, and from very different perspectives.
The project shows how XR technologies can be used to transfer real people and their experiences into the digital space. This gives rise to new creative forms of expression that enhance the classic festival experience and strengthen the sense of community in surprising ways.