Free - just turn up
- Year: 2025
- Duration: 75min
- Certificate: 15
- Type: Arts and Technology
Watch a selection of short immersive and interactive Virtual Reality experiences, screening as part of Nottingham Film Festival 2025.
Drop in to Broadway's Mezz Lounge any time between 1pm–8pm on Wednesday 5 – Saturday 8 November to watch the selected VR work.
No booking necessary, just drop in.
No experience of Virtual Reality necessary. All VR experiences are seated or standing optional and will be viewed using Meta Quest virtual reality headsets, with some interactions requiring the use of a controller or hand movements. Broadway staff and festival volunteers will be present to support you.
Capacity: Up to 5 people will be able to take part at a time. During busy periods there may be a short wait for a headset to become available.
Duration: Allow for approximately 60–75 minutes to view all of the experiences. The selected VR experiences vary from 15–30 minutes duration. You are welcome to try as few or as many of the experiences as you would like. An additional short tutorial teaching hand and controller-based interaction is available – approximately 15 minutes duration.
Content: VR experiences are suitable for ages 15+ and contain some strong language. Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult.
VR Experiences
The Time Before
By Leo Metcalf (2025)
Caught between waking life and dreaming, Olly delves into his childhood memories, navigating the fantastical dream worlds his sister created to shield them from family strife. A journey into the buried past that shapes who we are.
Duration: 14 minutes
Maya: The Birth of a Superhero
By Poulomi Basu. Co-directed by CJ Clarke (2024)
An immersive story following Maya, an ordinary 21st Century girl, as she transforms into a uniquely female superhero whose powers derive from the process of menstruation.
The story of a South Asian girls coming of age and the awakening of her sexuality. She must overcome her own shame and fear to find her inner strength and true super-powers.
With the arrival of her first period Maya’s world is turned upside down as she is confronted by the restrictive traditions of her conservative family and a world of hidden shame, stigma and taboo in contemporary London.
An odyssey of womanhood and femininity, referencing ancient symbols of spiritual and feminine power, the piece draws together the real and the imaginary to trace possible paths to resilience and justice. The Player must discover a radical power based on self love, care and solidarity.
Duration: 30 minutes
Paint to Pixel XR
by MBD. Directed by Paul Long. (2022)
Paint to Pixel is a virtual exhibition that charts the history of UK graffiti. It features interviews and photo archives that cover 5 decades of graffiti writing, alongside original artwork by some of the UK’s most influential artists.
In this VR film, audiences hop aboard a virtual train and are take through five distinct galleries. From the origins of graffiti in 1970s New York to its contemporary resurgence in street art and urban festivals, the film explores diverse themes within this vibrant cultural movement.
Duration: 15–30 minutes
Nottingham Film Festival
Nottingham Film Festival is back this November, with the organisers bringing the local film community together and raising awareness of climate action. Based at Mammoth, A Climate Action Cinema on Broad Street, the festival will allow filmmakers and audiences to connect, create, and collaborate across seven days of networking, screenings and parties. Other local venues are supporting the festival to share short films, feature films and VR work with audiences.
Nottingham Film Festival's immersive programme strand is supported by University of Nottingham's Virtual and Immersive Production Studio and Create Growth N2 (CGN2).
Virtual Reality screenings supported by Near Now, Broadway's studio for arts, design and innovation.