The Immersive Competition at the 78th Festival de Cannes has awarded its top honor to From Dust, a boundary-pushing creation by Dutch director Michel van der Aa. The project was recognized with the Award for Best Immersive Work, celebrating its innovative approach to storytelling, space, and audience engagement.
This marks the second edition of Cannes’ Immersive Competition, which returned this year to the legendary Carlton Hotel. The venue was transformed into a dynamic hub of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality, hosting more than 5,000 bookings — a clear indicator of growing public interest in immersive art as a distinct creative discipline.
The Immersive Jury, led by acclaimed French director Luc Jacquet, included a diverse panel: American artist and musician Laurie Anderson, French writer and performer Tania de Montaigne, British filmmaker and multimedia artist Martha Fiennes, and Japanese video game visionary Tetsuya Mizuguchi. Together, they evaluated a selection of 16 works from nine countries — with nine in competition, two showcased out of competition, and five featured in a special Focus on Luxembourg.
The Immersive Competition is designed to foster new modes of storytelling that challenge traditional formats and reshape how stories are told and experienced.
The 78th Festival de Cannes runs from May 13 to May 24, 2025.
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