Belfast XR Festival has announced the ten selected projects and production teams joining Amplify:XR Labs, its £200,000 UK-wide immersive development programme.

Following strong national interest, the selected teams represent a broad cross-section of new and emerging producers from across the UK. Each project is rooted in narrative fiction IP and demonstrates the creative ambition, originality and storytelling strength that Amplify:XR Labs was designed to support.

Amplify:XR Labs is delivered by Belfast XR Festival and supported by the BFI Creative Challenge Fund, awarding National Lottery funding, and in partnership with Northern Ireland Screen, Arts Council Northern Ireland, Immersive Arts UK and Digital Catapult.

While united by a commitment to narrative immersive work, the selected projects span a wide range of worlds, genres and creative approaches, reflecting the depth and diversity of voices entering the XR field. The cohort also includes producers and creative teams bringing fresh perspectives, new stories and underrepresented viewpoints into immersive storytelling.

The ten selected projects are:

• Annika Hagemann – The Atlas of Joyful Distances

• Gaigai Xie – How to Play Mahjong

• Gavin Peden – MANBOY

• Harry Silverlock – Morphogenic Angels: Chapter 2 (Alchemy of Perspectives)

• Humira Imtiaz – The Kids are Halal

• Jo Lewis – Treehouse

• Laura Wilkinson – The Nine Day Queen

• Nneka Iwunna Ezemezue – More Tales By Moonlight

• Pinny Grylls – EXIT MEATSPACE

• Rory Friers – Forest Floor

Belfast XR Festival Director, Deepa Mann-Kler, said:

“Amplify:XR Labs represents a strategic evolution for Belfast XR Festival as an organisation and the announcement of the selected projects is the next milestone. Alongside our commitment to showcasing outstanding immersive work, we are now investing directly in the people and projects that will shape the future of the sector.

“By providing structured development time, financial support and access to world-class expertise, we are creating the conditions for producers to take bold narrative ideas forward with confidence.

“We are especially proud to champion a richly diverse cohort of emerging producers whose stories reflect the breadth, complexity and creative ambition of the UK and the communities they represent.”

Producer and Programme Lead, Eva Robinson, added:

“What excites me most about this cohort is the strength of the storytelling. Every one of these projects begins with a compelling narrative voice, and that’s exactly where immersive work should start.

Over the coming months, we’ll be working closely with each team to explore how XR can expand their creative vision and open up new ways of connecting with audiences. It’s a real privilege to support producers at this stage, when ideas are still taking shape and the possibilities feel wide open. We’re looking forward to getting started in Belfast and beginning that journey together.”

Mia Bays, Director of the BFI Filmmaking Fund has commented:

“The XR and immersive media landscape offers exciting creative potential which Amplify:XR Labs will help to unlock for emerging producers, aligning with the BFI Creative Challenge Fund’s core aim of increasing opportunities for early career producers. Through offering participants the opportunity to engage with real-time pipelines, immersive design principles and to create fully developed pitch materials, Amplify:XR Lab will directly enhance their ability to attract finance, secure production partners, and take projects to market. We are excited to see the results from the Lab which we hope will help to diversify the immersive sector and bring regional and underrepresented voices into a high-growth area of screen storytelling.”

The programme will commence with a three-day residency in Belfast beginning on Monday 2nd March, bringing together the selected teams for an in-person kick-off, networking opportunities and a visit to Studio Ulster, Northern Ireland’s newly opened, world-leading virtual production facility.

The residency marks the start of a structured programme of masterclasses, workshops and one-to-one mentorship designed to take participants from early-stage or novice experience in XR technology through to a confident working knowledge of immersive production pipelines. Across the Labs, teams will collaborate with experienced XR producers and creative technologists to explore the full narrative and technical potential of immersive media, develop prototypes and build market-ready pitch materials.

By the end of Amplify:XR Labs, each team will have developed a robust creative package designed to support future funding applications, finance conversations and routes to market.