The 2025 SXSW FOMO Relief Patch (A NoPro Guide)

Every year South By Southwest (SXSW) becomes the epicenter of innovation across tech, entertainment, and more. A multi-layered festival and conference with music, film, and interactive tracks, SXSW has become a fulcrum point on the international circuit for important XR debuts and discussions about the future of immersive & experiential work.

Heck, this year our own publisher is moderating a panel featuring guests from Cosm, PHI, and the Venice Film Festival.

Plus: there’s always all kinds of eye popping activations, and this year we’re hoping to get something as cool as last year’s Fallout one was. (Will it be the Alien: Earth activation? We sure hope it will be.)

Below you will find the ACTIVATIONS, XR ACTION, and SESSIONS that have caught our eye at this year’s SXSW.

We’re also excited to offer up early looks at two of the works in the XR Experience Competition: Traces: The Grief Processor and The Secret Life of Monsters — The Gateway Experience, the trailers for which you’ll find below in the XR Action section.

We will have MORE this Friday when we have the creative teams of those projects on the podcast, and even more next week with on the ground reports from our team.

— Noah Nelson, Publisher

ACTIVATIONS

Alien: Earth
318 E 5th St
March 7 & 8

Buckle up. FX’s Alien: Earth is rapidly approaching Austin, TX and is expected to make impact at SXSW on March 7–8. Highly classified operations are being conducted at 318 E 5th St. Stop by to see if you have what it takes to join the team.

Black Hole Experience
Booth 150
March 9–12

The Black Hole Experience is a unique mobile exhibition uniting the awe and wonder of nature and the cosmos with meditative reflection. Presented by Age of Union and conceived by Dax Dasilva and artist Kelly Nunes, BHX draws inspiration from the physics and spiritual properties of black holes to create an immersive emotional experience for all participants. Using light, sound and 3D mapped projections, this work of art aims to remind us of our place in the universe, and our role on Planet Earth.

Bonus: Friday, March 14 — Enjoy an exclusive Age of Union party curated by Refraction at LoLo Wine Bar featuring BHX, a live panel, cocktail hour, auction, and dance party by headlining DJ Tiga. BHX will be open starting at 6 p.m., with the exclusive party running from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Visit HERE to register for tickets to the party.

Saturday, March 15: Open to the public at LoLo Wine Bar, 1504 E 6th St, Austin, TX from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The Criterion Mobile Closet
Congress Street Closure
March 7–10

Stocked with 1,000+ of the greatest films from around the world, the Criterion Collection Closet offers more cinematic inspiration per square foot than any other place on the planet. Filmmakers, stars, and creative luminaries come to Criterion to champion their favorite films in our popular Criterion Closet Picks series. In honor of our 40th anniversary, we’re taking the Closet on the road and opening the door to everyone. Come in, explore the collection, and make your own Closet video!

Escape With Prime
Hotel San José
March 7 & 8

Prime Video’s immersive, pop-up activation is taking place on March 7 and 8 at the Hotel San José. The event will transport SXSW attendees away from the bustle of the festival and into the world of the incredible slate of women-led content available on and coming soon to Prime Video, such as My Fault: London, Picture This, Holland, G20, Another Simple Favor, The Summer I Turned Pretty, and Étoile.

FanPort — Mixed Reality Installation
UK House @ Palm Door on Sixth
March 8

UK immersive studio Draw & Code are debuting a mixed reality installation during SXSW at UK House. FanPort is a unique spatial experience system where worlds meet and reality is mixed up. Featuring a volumetric performance from UK rap artist Koj and with support from The Great Campaign and Liverpool City Region, this shows how the music video may be rethought in the spatial age.

NASA House: CreateSpace
Austin Public Library Centreal Library
March 8 & 9

NASA’s CreateSpace transforms Austin’s Central Library into an immersive experience where visitors don’t just learn about space — they help shape it. Spanning multiple floors of this state-of-the-art library in the heart of downtown Austin, CreateSpace blends hands-on creation, interactive exhibits, and sensory experiences that showcase NASA’s full spectrum of exploration and discovery. CreateSpace invites everyone to explore space science through their own lens — whether that’s art, music, technology, or pure imagination.

Paramount+ The LodgeClive Bar
March 7–10

Paramount+’s ‘The Lodge’ is the ultimate fan experience, offering an unforgettable and immersive journey that lets guests engage with hit content, iconic franchises and beloved characters. This ski-lodge-inspired activation is returning to Austin for a third year, giving fans and new audiences an opportunity to step inside the worlds of their favorite movies and series on Paramount+, including Yellowjackets, 1923, Gladiator II, the upcoming original series Happy Face and more.

XR ACTION

1906 Atlanta Race Massacre
Nonny de la Peña (Emblematic Group & National Center for Civil and Human Rights)
Fairmont; Congressional Ballroom; March 9–11

For four days in September of 1906 in Atlanta, Georgia, a white mob — incited by the race-baiting of politicians and local newspapers — violently attacked the black community across the city. Using volumetric performances, hand-drawn Quill image and AI animations, this augmented reality project allows audiences to follow writer and editor Jesse Max Barber’s as he tries to tell the world this buried truth.

This piece was made in a collaboration with the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and award-winning Emblematic Group’s director Nonny de la Peña, who has more than a decade of AR/VR experience, alongside a consultancy with director Alton Glass and journalist Retha Hill.

Address Unknown: Fukushima Now
Arif Khan (Twisted Nerve Productions)
Fairmont; Congressional Ballroom; March 9–11

‘Address Unknown: Fukushima Now’ is an immersive VR documentary that takes audiences to the heart of Fukushima to meet the survivors living in the shadow of the crisis today. Using volumetric capture & photogrammetry technology, the documentary transports viewers into an experience that explores the disaster and the lasting impact it’s had on communities and the environment. We reveal how a community endures in the aftermath of trauma and recalls memories of homes they can longer return to. Through local voices, the experience examines the meaning of home and how it may be redefined in the face of disaster.

Ancestors
Steye Hallema (The Smartphone Orchestra)
Fairmont; Verbena; March 9–11

What kind of world will we leave for future generations? In ‘Ancestors’, you’ll embark on a thrilling, collective journey six generations into the future. Guided by your own smartphone, this interactive experience uses AI to create connections between you and others in the room. Together, you’ll explore the challenges of tomorrow, discovering how collaboration is key to shaping a better world. Join this immersive, fun, and thought-provoking adventure that brings people together in an entirely new way!

The Art of Change
Simone Fougnier, Vincent Rooijers (Studio Syro)
Fairmont; Congressional Ballroom; March 9–11

‘The Art of Change’ is an immersive, audio-visual journey through time, space, and pivotal life moments. Using a unique ‘feedback loop’ of voice memos addressed to past and future selves, the project weaves personal reflections and archetypal experiences into a narrative that transcends the individual. Entirely painted and animated in VR using Quill, the piece explores the solitude of a wilderness tree, the challenge of a mountain peak, and the yearning for escape from an ordinary office. Seamless transitions and evolving environments redefine how we experience music, as the viewer navigates life’s complexity through an interactive, multi-sensory world.

Cosmos in Focus
Tom Henchman, Aditi Rajagopal
Fairmont; Congressional Ballroom; March 9–11

An immersive journey through the cosmos on Apple Vision Pro.

The stars have always captured our imagination, and the latest advances in space travel and telescopy are creating images that are both stunning in detail and have profound learnings hidden within. This unique immersive experience takes you from looking up at the night sky to the depths of outer space, through images from the James Webb Space Telescope. Journey through the breathtaking, high-resolution imagery like never before, hearing insights from the scientists working with NASA and ESA on what the images reveal, and how they are shaping our understanding of the cosmos.

Currents
Jake Oleson
Fairmont; Congressional Ballroom; March 9–11

‘Currents’ is a live-action VR film crafted for the Apple Vision Pro, following Linh, a young woman leaving her tranquil countryside for the relentless energy of Ho Chi Minh City. As she navigates chaos of urban life, the film examines how rapidly growing cities reshape our identities, dreams, and connections, offering a poignant reflection on the human cost of progress. Blending traditional filmmaking with motion capture, intricate animation, and an original score by Jake Oleson, ‘Currents’ utilizes the Vision Pro’s unprecedented fidelity to step into Linh’s world as she breaks generations of farming tradition to forge a life of her own in one of the world’s fastest-growing cities.

EchoVision
Jiabao Li, Botao Amber Hu, Matt McCorkle
Fairmont; Congressional Ballroom; March 9–11

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‘EchoVision’ is a mixed reality experience that allows participants to experience the world of bats using sound visualization. With a series of custom-designed, bat-shaped headsets from the open-source HoloKit, people can echolocate like bats. People scream and see the environment bouncing back to navigate in darkness. With AI, we get to correlate bat calls with certain behaviors such as mating or kissing. We composed these AI-categorised bat calls into baby bat lullaby, love songs, etc and set against their natural habitats. Inspired by Thomas Nagel’s “What Is it Like to Be a Bat?”, ‘EchoVision’ delves into the mystery of understanding the experiences of other species.

Face Jumping
Danny Cannizzaro, Samantha Gorman (Tender Claws)
Fairmont; Congressional Ballroom; March 9–11

‘Face Jumping’ is an interactive, eye-tracked VR experience that lets the player swap perspectives by making eye contact with characters, animals, and objects. The game explores the desire and impossibility of seeing through the eyes of another. Jump from mind to mind as you seek enlightenment. Gaze out from a tree’s knots, and time speeds up. Look through a robot’s eyes, and the world is filtered through computer vision. Slip into a dog’s perspective, and scent becomes a portal to other worlds. This experience invites players to reflect on the act of seeing and being seen, evoking questions about perception, consciousness, and how we connect to others through a glance.

Honey Fungus
Jonah King
Fairmont; Congressional Ballroom; March 9–11

‘Honey Fungus’ is an interactive VR experience where users are guided by a queer, sentient mycelial entity through vignettes based on the fungal reproductive cycle. Across multiple scenes, users are invited to engage in sensory interactions that shape and transform the environment. As they progress, they encounter spores that reveal the earth’s hidden vitality and erotic potential, speaking through poetic passages generated by training AI on a unique blend of Smithsonian field research and amateur erotica. In these spaces, the scientific merges with the sensual, opening possibilities for new forms of ecological stewardship and mutual care between human and non-human life.

In the Current of Being
Cameron Kostopoulos
Fairmont; Hamilton Pool; March 9–11

This haptic VR experience shares the true story of Carolyn Mercer, a survivor of electroshock conversion therapy aimed at ‘correcting’ her gender identity. Through wearable haptic vests, sleeves, and gloves, participants physically connect to the rhythm of Carolyn’s heartbeat, the cadence of her breath, and the tremors of the procedures she endured. Her journey confronts the inhumanity of these practices and highlights the extraordinary strength it takes to live authentically.

Traces: The Grief Processor
Vali Fugulin
Fairmont; Congressional Ballroom; March 9–11

‘Traces: The Grief Processor’ is a multiuser interactive VR experience that invites you to poetically explore your grief — whether from the loss of a loved one, a friendship, or even a dream.
Led by a ritualist and shaped by the creator’s personal journey, the experience unfolds within a dreamlike forest, where each step gently unveils a new facet of grief. In this space, grief is not something to overcome, but to acknowledge, express, and integrate into the fabric of life.
A playful yet profound documentary-based odyssey, ‘Traces’ guides its participants through the universal complexities of loss, helping them emerge with a renewed sense of hope and connection.

The Secret Life of Monsters — The Gateway Experience
Emile Arragon (Wallrus Creative Technologies)
Fairmont; Congressional Ballroom; March 9–11

In this mixed reality adventure, you are a recruit in the GEU, a team tasked with exploring parallel realities from a mysterious station known as Gateway. Your first mission takes you into SOLUM, a world full of unique inhabitants and wonderful environments. You’ll explore three distinct quantum breaches, each leading to a different place on SOLUM, gathering vital data on the creatures tied to them. As a secondary objective, you’ll also track objects that don’t belong in this world, further unraveling the mysteries of SOLUM. Perform well, and you may secure a permanent spot on the team. However, not everything goes as planned — your journey may take you further than expected.

Uncanny Alley: A New Day
Stephen Butchko, Rick Treweek (Ferryman Collective)
Fairmont; Congressional Ballroom; March 9–11

Live Theatre in VR. Two actors play multiple characters on a cyber-punk journey.

Adaptive Learning Industries is about to launch the New Day update through legislation that passed with little public support. Uncanny Alley’s “Metizens” will soon feel the amnesia-like effects from weaponized Radio Frequency waves.

Cyber-punk hacker-whiz, Gh0st, breaks a group of protesters out of jail to lead them and her increasingly sentient Service-Bot, Atom, to safety through a hacked portal, out of the city and to a new metaverse. They must stick together, evade capture, and eventually decide whether to leave Uncanny Alley or stay and fight for their freedom, and their home.

Ways of Knowing: A Navajo Nuclear History
Kayla Briët
Fairmont; Congressional Ballroom; March 9–11

‘Ways of Knowing’ is an immersive documentary about Navajo resilience to protect health, tradition, and land after enduring extensive uranium mining by the United States government throughout the Cold War. Eight decades after the Manhattan Project which birthed the nuclear-industrial complex, Indigenous communities across the American Southwest continue to suffer from toxic exposure, and live among contaminated land and waterways. But the landscape and its elements — including uranium — have been considered sacred long before this history. ‘Ways of Knowing’ illuminates how, despite generations of personal and environmental trauma, there is still a profound reason for hope and healing.

SESSIONS

Art in Flux: Copyright Challenges in Community Spaces
Ben Allison (Bardacke Allison Miller LLP), Breanna Contreras (Meow Wolf Inc)
JW Marriot; Salon 5
March 10; 10am

Immersive art experiences, from Meow Wolf to teamLab, are transforming how audiences interact with creativity — but how does copyright law apply to art that moves, changes, and blends digital and physical worlds? This session unpacks the complexities of copyright in immersive, interactive art installations. Whether you’re an artist, creator, or industry professional, step into unknown worlds: join us for an eye-opening journey through the intersection of immersive art and law in today’s rapidly evolving landscape.

Building Responsive XR: Immersive Theater Meets GamingJoshua Rubin (Subverse Narrative Consulting)
Fairmont; Manchester B
March 10; 10am

Join Joshua Rubin, Interactive Emmy-winning writer of Immersive Experiences and Video Games (Assassin’s Creed 2, Destiny, Telltale) as he explores shared techniques of Games and Immersive Theater that we will need to create the responsive, personalized XR narratives of the future. Rubin will break down essential tools, drawing links between classic Games (GTA, Portal, Last of Us) and Immersive groups, historical and contemporary (Punchdrunk, The Living Theater, Odyssey Works). Attendees will learn how to engage the audience/player in ways that blur the lines between observer and participant.

Can Immersive Art Save Planet Earth?
Dax Dasilva (Age of Union), Janicke Morissette (Silent Partners Studio), Kelly Nunes (Age of Union), Wes Sechrest (Re:wild)
SXSW Expo — Next Stage — Exhibit Hall 4
March 12, 11:30a

Explore how immersive art experiences, art installations, and creative activations can engage new audiences in conversations about climate change and sustainability. As a form of storytelling, art can inspire the average person to not only understand some of the greatest challenges facing our planet but help participate in finding solutions.
Featuring speakers from Age of Union (conservation alliance that creates immersive art installations like the Black Hole Experience which will be at SXSW), Re:wild (global conservation leader and Age of Union partner), and multidisciplinary artists.

Emerging Global Immersive Exhibition Market of East & WestMyriam Achard (PHI), Jimmy Cheng (Digital Domain), Philippe Riviere 9Art Explora Foundation), Dong Wang (Shanghai Alight Digital Technology Co., Ltd.)
Fairmont; Manchester A
March 9, 2:30pm

The new millennium is ushering in rapid innovations in immersive entertainment, with the industry adapting in real-time. Our speakers will delve into this new global paradigm, where technologies such as real-time gaming, XR, and AI are creating new formats of simulation and immersion. Additionally, history has shown that attractions wildly successful in one market can fail to resonate in another. This panel will discuss the key differences in audience behaviors across markets and how producers and exhibition curators adapt to these variations.

From Creator To Closer: Your Path To Greenlight
Myriam Achard (PHI), Neil Carty (Cosm), Liz Rosenthal (Venice Film Festival); moderated by NoPro’s own Noah Nelson
Fairmont; Manchester B
March 10; 4pm

Grab a seat at the table with the decision-makers greenlighting content at the most cutting-edge immersive venues in the country. In a candid and illuminating conversation, you’ll learn how to speak the language of immersive experience venues to successfully position your personal brand and your concept using insights from industry innovators. Explore new opportunities and challenges of realizing your work in an immersive experience venue with leading experts as they unpack the pitch process behind some of the most successful immersive experience venues in the U.S.

Immersive Wellness for Expanding Aliveness
Corvas Brinkerhoff (Submersive), Susan Magsamen (Strategic Horizons Llp), Joseph Pine (The Experience Economy), Mikey Siegel (Consciousness Hacking)
Fairmont, Manchester A
March 10, 4pm

Elevated states of consciousness decrease stress and improve overall well-being. Submersive, from the co-founder and ECD of Meow Wolf, is an immersive destination wellness experience blending the latest discoveries in neuroscience with cutting-edge water, light and sound therapies. Join CEO Corvas Brinkerhoff (Submersive, Meow Wolf), Joseph Pine (The Experience Economy), and Susan Magsamen (Arts + Mind Lab), in a conversation moderated by Mikey Siegel (Consciousness Hacking), on the inspiration, art and science behind the highly anticipated immersive spa set to open in Austin in 2026.

ILM Immersive: Inviting Fans to Step Inside Our Stories
Vicki Dobbs Beck, Alyssa Finley, Jonathan Harman, Mark S. Miller, Elizabeth Walker
Hilton Downtown Austin; Salon H
March 10, 10am

Join creative leaders at ILM Immersive for a discussion about the evolution of immersive storytelling. The session will explore how the mixed reality space has evolved since the studio was founded nearly 10 years ago as ILMxLAB, and how those learnings continue to shape how we invite fans to “step inside our stories.”

ILM Immersive is renowned for their home VR experiences such as: the Emmy-nominated “Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series;” the Oscar-winning CARNE y ARENA; and the Marvel Studios and Disney+ mixed reality experience “What If…? — An Immersive Story” on Apple Vision Pro.

Living Stories: How Immersive Experiences Are Reinventing Media, Disrupting Marketing, and Transforming Audiences
Charlie Melcher (Future of StoryTelling)
Fairmont, Manchester B
March 10, 2:30pm

Step into the future of storytelling with Charlie Melcher, Founder and CEO of Future of StoryTelling (FoST), as he unveils “Living Stories” — a groundbreaking form of immersive entertainment poised to surpass traditional media like TV and film. In this radically different SXSW session, you’ll experience storytelling like never before, where the “actience” (audience that shapes the story) plays a crucial role in real-time, personalized narratives. Whether you’re a brand, creator, or storyteller, discover how Living Stories can elevate your work and transform the way we connect with stories — and each other.

Reshaping the Future of Immersive Exhibitions
Jeremy Boxer (Multidimensional), Elisha Karmitz (MK2), Ricahrd Slaney (Lightroom), Diana Williams (Kinetic Energy Entertainment)
Fairmont, Manchester A
March 11, 11:30am

Join us for a compelling roundtable discussion featuring French cinema distributor MK2, London-based Lightroom, and US multi-platform venture studio Kinetic Energy Entertainment, moderated by award winning curator and creative director/producer Jeremy Boxer. Our panel will explore the opportunities and challenges of new modes of exhibition and storytelling for immersive experiences. From MK2’s innovative immersive museum prototype to Lightroom’s state-of-the-art artist-led shows and Kinetic Energy Entertainment’s story-based IP productions, explore how these pioneers are reshaping the future of immersive exhibitions.

Translating Physical Craft to Digital Spaces
Emilie Baltz (Gensler), Meriko Borogove (ScanLAB Projects), Bo Bridges (Bo Bridges Photography Inc), Neil Carty (Cosm)
Fairmont, Manchester A
March 11, 2:30pm

Where does art created for and with tangible mediums live in the world of virtual experience? How can creators who work in physical mediums, utilizing physical spaces to create and display their work translate that art into innovative immersive experiences? Moderated by Cosm’s Neil Carty, creators Emilie Baltz, Meriko Borogove, and Bo Bridges will unpack their secrets to building immersive experiences rooted in physical expression. Using their own works as case studies, they’ll unpack what skills you’ll need to work with venues and take your creations into the realm of immersive experience.

XR Meets AI: From a Galaxy Far Far Away to Your Living Room
John Gaeta (Inworld AI), Eliabeth Hyman (XR Association), Greg Jones (NVIDIA), John Monos (Accenture)
Fairmont, Manchester B
March 11, 2:30pm

XR technology is changing how we create and consume content. From films to video games and fully immersive experiences, XR supported by AI is changing how artists create new worlds and how users experience them. This panel will examine the techniques developers, artists, game designers and filmmakers use to provide unique experiences in virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. We’ll explore the unique considerations for adopting AI and XR in the production process, and how users of all skill levels engage in immersive storytelling through real-world examples and use cases.

Discover the latest immersive events, festivals, workshops, and more at our new site EVERYTHING IMMERSIVE, home of NoPro’s show listings.

NoPro is a labor of love made possible by our generous Patreon backers. Join them today and get access to our Newsletter and Discord! You can also GIFT memberships.

In addition to the No Proscenium website and our podcast, and you can find NoPro on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and in the Facebook community also named Everything Immersive.