Rai Cinema Launches First Italian VR App at Cannes 2019

At the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, Rai Cinema unveiled 'Rai Cinema Channel VR,' the first Italian app for virtual reality content, presented at the Italian Pavilion. The app offers a library of original immersive experiences, including 360° red carpet coverage, interviews, and VR short films. CEO Paolo Del Brocco, alongside Carlo Rodomonti (Strategic Marketing and Digital) and Manuela Cacciamani (One More Pictures), spearheaded the launch. The free app aligns Rai with international media companies like CNN, BBC, Netflix, Disney, and The New York Times that have adopted VR. Users can access content via Oculus, Samsung, Android, and Apple stores, on smartphones or VR headsets, and on the Rai Cinema website. VR 360° videos from festivals and events will also be shared on Facebook. Del Brocco emphasized that while cinema remains their focus, innovation helps attract audiences who visit theaters less. Rodomonti noted that VR represents a new storytelling dimension for Rai Cinema, allowing audiences to experience red carpets at 360° or immerse in short films. Rai Cinema's VR activities began in 2018 with three short films and VR 360° content for the Venice and Rome Film Festivals, including two live streams that reached over 500,000 users on Facebook. Major film festivals like Cannes (which featured Alejandro Iñárritu's VR installation 'Carne y Arena' in 2017) and the Venice Film Festival (with a dedicated VR section) have embraced this new language.