Andy Serkis’ ‘Nevatars’ Takes Center Stage at Venice Immersive

Premiering at Venice Immersive, “Nevatars” represents a long-held passion project for director Andy Serkis. The concept originated from his experiences co-founding The Imaginarium with partner Jonathan Cavendish, a studio rooted in his extensive background in performance capture. Despite possessing the necessary hardware and expertise, the narrative idea emerged from the discarded concept art that often accumulates in production archives.

“The idea came from experience,” Serkis said. “What happens to all the incredible concept art for characters that never get used? These characters are given thought and spirit and a life of their own, and then they end up in a folder called ‘old assets,’ right next to one called ‘new projects.’ It was born from those digital rejects, hoping to be noticed.”

Although the team had discussed the premise since 2011, the project found its footing when 100 Zeroes, Google’s immersive production division, approached the duo regarding content suitable for the format. Collaborating with co-director Josh Nelson Youssef, founder of immersive storyteller Boona, Serkis crafted a narrative centered on a young artist ashamed of her early, chaotic work. The story serves as a parable about preserving creative instinct against the pressures of the commercial art world.

The 30-minute XR experience follows the artist and her group of design rejects as they attempt to escape the desktop trash bin. The voice cast features Daisy Ridley, Josh Gad, Kathleen Turner, Steve Zahn, Kelly Marie Tran, and Serkis himself.

Matthew O’Rourke of Boona highlighted the film’s balance of universal themes like perfectionism and self-doubt with technical innovation. “We used a cinematic viewport, where things move in and out of the frame, familiar like a traditional movie while really taking advantage of what immersive can do,” he explained. “There are moments that feel like a stunning animated film, and then it comes alive in ways that are still untraditional for the medium.”

Originally developed for the Android XR platform, “Nevatars” was selected in April as one of the first titles to launch on the XREAL Aura, Google-powered AR smart glasses. The device’s voice-activation features and lightweight portability added new dimensions to the storytelling. O’Rourke noted that the experience is fully interactive, allowing users to touch and move objects, creating a sense of agency that blends with the film.

Phil Robertson of The Imaginarium described the effect as augmentation rather than pure escapism. “You get coherent, moving, funny storytelling, but it’s mind-boggling in the sense that it surrounds you without shutting you off from the world behind a pair of goggles,” Robertson said. “You’re part of the world, but with these things happening around — and inside — your head.”

As one of only two Aura-supported projects featured this year, “Nevatars” has drawn significant attention on Venice’s Immersive island. Serkis compared the interaction to “Minority Report,” allowing users to manipulate screens in their physical space with their hands.

Looking forward, Serkis and Cavendish plan to expand “Nevatars” as a cross-media intellectual property while deepening their involvement in the immersive sector. Cavendish praised Serkis’ unique imaginative capabilities, stating, “He thinks in 4D while the rest of us think in 2D. This is just the beginning.”