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Medici Residency XR Farnese
with the Institut français Italia
Initiated by the French Embassy in Italy and the Institut Français Italia in partnership with the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici, the XR Farnese – Residency Medici is a program dedicated to immersive creation in Italy. Launched in partnership with NewImages Festival – an international event dedicated to XR – the residency is endowed with a €6,000 grant, and will enable a French author to develop his or her XR project during a stay at Villa Medici. The residency will provide an opportunity to meet Italian institutions, creators and professionals!
Already well-placed on the world stage of digital creation thanks to the Venice Festival and its XR section, Italy boasts a booming ecosystem and assertive ambitions in the digital field. NewImages Festival will manage the call for projects and applications. Exchanges, notably at the Venice and Rome festivals, will enrich the development of the project.
Residency requirements
Selection Committee
A selection committee made up of the Director of Villa Medici or his representative, and representatives of NewImages Festival, Institut français Italia and Rai Cinema will evaluate eligible projects.
Financial terms and conditions
Endowed with a €6,000 grant, the one-month residency (from October first to 29, 2025) will enable a French author to develop his or her XR project in the exceptional setting of the Villa Medici in Rome.
The resulting work will be acquired by Rai Cinema, the film production company of Italy’s national public television group.
Application
- copy of identity card or passport (for French nationals) or copy of resident card or work visa (for foreign nationals residing in France)
- a biography
- a CV
- a portfolio of previous projects
- a covering letter
- a letter of recommendation (optional)
- a (long) synopsis of the project
- a note of intent
- a technical data sheet
- visuals of the project (if applicable)
- a provisional budget
- a financing plan
- a provisional production schedule
- the work plan envisaged for the residency (forecast)
Don’t hesitate to contact Newimages if you have any questions: [email protected]
Partners
French Embassy and Institut Français Italia
In the heart of Rome, in the prestigious palace built by Cardinal Farnese, the Italian Embassy and the Institut Français Italia work daily to build and nurture partnerships and initiatives between Italy and France in all fields, and particularly in the rich Franco-Italian field of artistic creation.
NewImages Festival
Dedicated to virtual worlds, NewImages Festival combines a rich professional component with programming open to all audiences. Its award-winning international XR competition is judged by a jury of creators and professionals. Its XR Financing Market brings together the leading players in the XR industry for projects open to all immersive formats. The festival also supports immersive creation by initiating collaborations, in the form of XR creation residencies, with other regions of the world, such as Taiwan (Kaohsiung Film Festival and TAICCA) and Africa. NewImages Festival is produced and organized by the Forum des images in Paris.
Rai Cinema
Since 2018 Rai Cinema, a subsidiary of the RAI group, Radio Televisione Italiana, has embarked on an ambitious policy to promote VR. The first media group to launch its Rai Cinema Channel VR app containing over 70 360° works, reaching an estimated audience of around 5,000,000 VR enthusiasts through its website and social networks. Rai Cinema has created an important network linked to the world of XR and is a partner of prestigious institutions such as PlayStation – Sony Entertainment, Milan’s MEET or Turin’s Cinema Museum, where at the end of May 2021 the first Italian XR cinema was created with Rai Cinema and was visited in a few days by over 3,000 spectators. Taking part in the Résidence will ensure maximum visibility for the work, and guarantee its acquisition and distribution in Italy through all its networks.
Videocittà
Videocity – Visual. Digital. Cultures, is an open and innovative audiovisual observatory capable of discovering and making known the transformative realities of moving images and promoting the excellence of the audiovisual production and employment chain.
Designed and founded by Francesco Rutelli and directed by Francesco Dobrovich, Videocittà offers a visionary look that involves a vast and heterogeneous audience on the different disciplines and expressions of moving images through projections, AV performance, training and informative talks, monumental and immersive installations, videomapping e video art.
In the first six editions it welcomed more than that 500 artists, including Oscar winners and national and international talents, establishing itself as a showcase capable of anticipating trends and a meeting place between tradition and innovation.
Partners
