Veneto Film Commission, Centro Sperimentale to launch first Italian VR school

Veneto Film Commission is joining forces with the nation’s public film institute Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia to launch a first-of-a-kind virtual reality technology school in northern Italy.

“This the first such school in Italy, and it is ahead of the curve on a European level and will put us in the position of being able to provide supply to the demand that will be increasing for VR technology in coming years,” Veneto Film Commission director Jacopo Chessa said.

The announcement of the new immersive technology school in the Veneto region follows in the footsteps of the Venice Film Festival launching an immersive section in 2017, which is now a fully integrated part of the event with its own premises on Lazzaretto Vecchio island just off the Lido. The VR section winners are given full Venice Lions as part of the awards system.

The new educational centre, which will be called Csc Immersive Arts, is scheduled to start operations with a summer programme next year. From autumn 2023, it will launch its first two-year course to be attended by 12 pupils a year for a total of 24 students in each given year once the two annual cohorts are running.

Currently, its curricula isn’t recognised by traditional education systems in Italy or abroad, so those attending will receive a certificate of attendance and training.

The school’s exact location is yet to be revealed, and organisers wouldn’t comment on whether any collaboration will exist with Venice Film Festival. 

Liz Rosenthal, who has co-curated Venice’s VR competition sidebar with Michel Reilhac since 2017, welcomed the news of an immersive training centre in the Veneto region. 

“The immersive arts will be a fast-evolving medium that is going to be ubiquitous in the way that we engage with storytelling and new forms of entertainment,” she said. “It’s important that more institutions are launching in this area as there is a huge gap in skills.”

According to the film commission, the school’s annual budget will be €500,000 ($497,000) at launch, with a target to increase that eventually to €700,000 ($696,000) through private sponsorship.

“The creation of this initiative offers a very promising adventure for young people keen to enter the audiovisuals arena by using new technology that will influence the future ways of narrating reality,” said Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia foundation president Marta Donzelli.

This article originally appeared on KFTV's sister site, Screendaily.