Discover.film, a streaming platform for short movies, is going to host the ‘first’ virtual reality (VR) film festival to showcase some of the best content it has to offer.

Streaming through VRChat, the screenings will take place in a custom-built virtual IMAX cinema. The virtual cinema, which will feature the films shortlisted for Discover.film’s Best Content Award, has been designed  to look like a real-life cinema but with some extras thrown in, such as a built-in voting system for audiences to select their favourite films.

“Ive always believed VR offers limitless opportunities for both sponsors and advertisers,” said Jaine Green, Head of Content at Discover.film. “Given VR and AR’s massive growth over recent years, we started planning this event and creating the cinema well before lockdown, as an exciting addition to our existing short film festival, The Discover.film Awards. Now, of course, were delighted to be in the position of having a wonderful and completely safe screening space to welcome a global audience to celebrate the hard work of talented filmmakers from around the world.”

The Discover.film Virtual Reality Festival will take place on Friday 14 August at 8pm (BST) for EU audiences, and again on Saturday 15 August at 1am (BST) for US audiences. It can be accessed via a VR headset in VRChat, or via PC by following the steps here.