Film Commission Torino Piemonte

The experience of TFI Immersive, the strategic section of TFI Torino Film Industry promoted by Film Commission Torino Piemonte, is consolidated and strengthened. Created in the 2025 edition, the initiative confirms its role as a fundamental reference point for contemporary audiovisual practices that are moving beyond the boundaries of traditional cinema screens, exploring new and unprecedented expressive and aesthetic frontiers.

Audiovisual Innovation and the European AVENUE CoVE Project

TFI Immersive continues and enhances its analysis of the impact of emerging technologies—from Extended Reality (XR) to AI—across the entire lifecycle of a work: from concept to production, through to distribution and exhibition. These activities are part of the AVENUE CoVE project (ERASMUS+), a major European Union-funded initiative active from 2025 to 2029 designed to support the competitiveness and innovation of the continent's creative industries. On the Italian front, the partnership features a high-profile alliance between:

• Politecnico di Torino (coordinator of the Italian XR ecosystem as VET - Vocational Education and Training);

• Film Commission Torino Piemonte (ESD - Ecosystem Driver, serving as coordinator of industry activities); and, in the role of Associate partners:

• CSC Animazione (Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia);

• Cartoon Italia

Together, these organizations are working to build a solid, concrete bridge between higher education and industry, ensuring a strategic perspective for young professionals entering the market at regional, European, and international levels.

The 2026 Edition: A Platform for Innovation

Against this backdrop of intense activity surrounding technological innovation, TFI Torino Film Industry reaffirms TFI Immersive as a key platform for observation, networking, and development. The goal is to provide industry professionals with updated mapping tools and debate spaces to capture new trends, highlight emerging talent, and strengthen the regional and national audiovisual ecosystem within a global context.

For the 2026 edition, the program created by Film Commission Torino Piemonte—developed with consultancy from Sara Tirelli, XR specialist and FCTP consultant, alongside the AVENUE CoVE partners—will feature two main key events, integrated and enhanced by synergies with the programming of ShorTO Film Market and onLive.

• Masterclass "From Concept to Production: Developing Immersive Experiences"

  The first session was held as a preview on Monday, November 9, 2026, at Sala Paolo Tenna of Film Commission Torino Piemonte, structured across two sessions. Curated by Sara Tirelli, the masterclass featured Valentina Temporin and John Volpato of ULTRA as speakers. Over the past ten years, the immersive sector has evolved from an experimental space into a structured ecosystem. Drawing from their professional experience and the analysis of concrete case studies, the speakers offered an in-depth overview of the key production, financial, and creative challenges of XR. They addressed development processes from initial idea to the choice of languages and technologies, the search for funding and international partners, the role of production companies balancing auteur projects and commercial commissions, and the crucial topic of distribution and audience connection.

• Meeting TFI Immersive Project 2026/2029

  The second key moment takes place on Sunday, November 29, 2026, at 5:15 PM in the Sala Grande of Circolo dei lettori e delle lettrici, as part of FCTP Production Days. The 90-minute panel, held in English and moderated by Sara Tirelli, will be divided into two programmatic parts.

  • The first part, titled Avenue CoVE – What’s going on? (30 minutes), is dedicated to presenting the research conducted during the first two years of the European project. It will include the presentation of a guideline paper for policy makers, derived from research and mapping activities essential for shaping professional training aimed at market access. Introductory remarks will be delivered by Paolo Manera (Director of Film Commission Torino Piemonte / TFI Torino Film Industry) and Tatiana Mazali (Politecnico di Torino), with contributions from Treshi Perera (Breda University of Applied Sciences) and Morten Thorning (Creative Viborg).

  • The second part, titled Avenue CoVE - Missing Links 2026 / Future XR Project 2027 (60 minutes), will focus on interpreting the research findings within the specific context of the rapidly evolving Italian and European XR ecosystem. It will also examine the role of ShorTO Film Market as a ten-year observatory on European industry transformations, while exploring how exhibition spaces like Museo del Cinema and Polo del '900 connect education and industry with the public. The round table will be chaired by Sara Tirelli and will feature Tatiana Mazali, Sönke Kirchhof (INVR.SPACE and reallifefilm international), Valentina Temporin (ULTRA), Carla Vulpiani (ShorTO Film Market), Silvia Sandrone (Creative Europe Desk Italy – MEDIA), Alessandro Rubini (Director of Polo del ‘900), Stefano Tropiano (Museo Nazionale del Cinema di Torino), and Carlo Rodomonti (Rai Cinema Channel). The meeting will conclude with the award ceremony for the ShorTO Film Market XR Contest.

The XR Showcase: A Space for Direct Experience

A central element of the experience will be the return of the XR Showcase: a unique opportunity to directly experience the future of storytelling and immersive technologies. Open to TFI badge holders from November 28 to 30, between 9:30 AM and 6:00 PM in the Sala Artisti of Circolo dei lettori e delle lettrici.

The program brings together two main contributions: immersive experiences selected by ShorTO Film Market through the “XR Content” call, presented in a showcase organized in collaboration with CTE NEXT, the Emerging Technologies House of the City of Turin (www.ctenext.it), and a selection of projects presented by Politecnico di Torino, created by students of the Master’s degree course in Cinema and Digital Media Engineering with support from the Visionary Media Lab, including works developed within the European AVENUE CoVE – ERASMUS+ project.