Updated
Updated · UploadVR · Sep 1
Empire At Sea Premieres as 10-Person Vision Pro Drama Opens 22-Minute Venice Run
Updated
Updated · UploadVR · Sep 1

Empire At Sea Premieres as 10-Person Vision Pro Drama Opens 22-Minute Venice Run

3 articles · Updated · UploadVR · Sep 1

Summary

  • Peter Flaherty’s 22-minute "Empire At Sea" premieres in competition at Venice Immersive this week, with a new trailer debuting exclusively on UploadVR.
  • Ten Apple Vision Pro users experience the mixed-reality drama around a custom LED table, where volumetrically captured actors appear in passthrough AR and participants can influence a branching story.
  • The plot follows climate scientists trying to build a sustainable community on a remote oil rig after a mainland catastrophe, then facing a choice over whether to admit strangers spotted five years later.
  • Orlando Jones, Ayelet Zurer and Geoffrey Arend lead the cast, captured with 4DV.ai technology for a production commissioned by Lincoln Center and ASU Gammage.
  • Venice Immersive runs Sept. 2-12 within the 83rd Venice Film Festival, and the project is also slated for Lincoln Center in January 2027, with home versions planned for VR headsets and phones.

Insights

Can branching narratives in mixed reality finally bridge the persistent gap between interactive gaming and high-art cinema?
How will ten strangers around a glowing table decide the ultimate fate of climate refugees in this groundbreaking experience?
Will this AR drama's reliance on expensive headsets contradict its core narrative of inclusive and sustainable survival?