Taiwanese VR film featured at Luxembourg film festival

Brussels, March 9 (CNA) The Taiwanese virtual reality (VR) film "The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up" is being featured at the 2026 Luxembourg City Film Festival and is competing for the "Best Immersive Experience" award in its Immersive Pavilion.

Directed by Singing Chen (陳欣儀) and adapted from a short story by Taiwanese author Wu Ming-yi (吳明益), the film follows protagonist Guan on a "surreal journey into dreamlike scenes" after he discovers his recently deceased wife's unfinished novel about Taiwan's endangered clouded leopard and the origin myth of the Rukai tribe, according to the festival's introduction.

The project is a single-user, free-roaming VR experience that "blends literature and memory into an intimate exploration of love, loss and self-reflection," the festival said.

On the opening day of the festival on March 5, Chen gave a presentation about the creation of the film, speaking at Mudam Luxembourg, where the film is being screened.

In a telephone interview with CNA, Chen said the film has sparked curiosity among European audiences about Taiwan's Indigenous culture and myths.

During the festival, Chen said, she has met with administrators and curators from European art museums and venues, as well as other filmmakers.

Chen said some curators told her they had traveled to Luxembourg specifically to watch her film, while others said they had seen it at the Venice Film Festival in 2025 but came to view it again.

"The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up" won the "Venice Immersive" award at the 2025 festival.

In April and May, public screenings of the film will be held in Paris, with the assistance of the Taiwan Cultural Center in Paris (CCTP), according to Chen.

Now in its 15th year, the Luxembourg City Film Festival is being held March 5-15 and has attracted more than 38,000 participants to its activities, including over 22,000 film audiences, according to its official website.

The Immersive Pavilion, currently in its ninth edition, is being presented from March 5-22.

This year's pavilion also honors artist Craig Quintero's "Just for You," a trilogy of VR works created with Taipei-based Riverbed Theatre.