Venice Immersive is part of the official selection of the Venice International Film Festival for the tenth consecutive year. The programme is entirely dedicated to immersive arts and media, encompassing all forms of creative XR expression, including immersive films, virtual and mixed reality, virtual worlds, and immersive installations.

This year’s selection comprises 68 projects from 26 countries, of which 30 titles are in competition.

The story of Eyes of Shame follows fourteen-year-old Eyeless, who experiences a flood of suppressed memories during her stay in a hospital for troubled teenagers. Through VR animation, the film places the viewer in the emotional point of view of the protagonist, exploring memory, identity, and shame through an immersive cinematic experience.

The film was directed by Lithuanian director Tomas Tamosaitis and produced by Lithuanian studio Afterimage and French company Insomniak, in co-production with Croatian company Minya Film and Animation. The screenplay was co-written by Tomas Tamosaitis and Emmanuel Rouglan, while the film’s artistic directors are Skirmanta Jakaitė and Tomas Tamosaitis.

The Croatian co-production was realised with the support of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC).

The Croatian crew includes creative producer Miljana Dragičević, producer Sara Ćuzele Papata, 3D animators Alen Vuković, Dario Dominik Bagarić, and Joana Correia, and programmer Matej Berščaković.

The project was inspired by director Tomas Tamosaitis’ many years of volunteering at a hospital for teenagers in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he has been running animation workshops since 2014. Rather than documenting specific events, the film explores how repeated experiences of being judged and shame gradually become internalised and a part of the way a young person perceives themselves.

“Being selected for Venice Immersive represents an important international recognition for everyone involved in this production and confirms the growing presence of Minya Film and Animation in international animation and immersive storytelling”, says producer Miljana Dragičević.

In recent years, Minya has participated in internationally recognised productions, including The Magician, directed by award-winning Romanian filmmaker Bogdan Mureșanu, which had its world premiere in the official competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2025. The company also co-produced Lena’s Farm directed by Elena Walf, winner of the Jury Award for Best TV Series at Annecy 2025 and numerous other awards, as well as Cinda Real, directed by Sara Božanić, part of the transmedia project Twisted Tales, which has been screened at over forty international festivals winning more than twenty awards.

The Venice International Film Festival runs from 2 to 12 September, while its full programme will be announced in the coming days. Further details are available on the Venice Biennale official website.