VR EFFECT! Virtual Reality Cinema

Virtual Reality has landed at the National Museum of Cinema.

The National Museum of Cinema hosts CineVR in the Aula del Tempio — a brand-new area dedicated to virtual reality. Created in collaboration with Rai Cinema, the project aims to promote digital culture, innovation, and new technologies related to the world of film. CineVR is Italy’s first permanent movie theatre entirely devoted to VR, featuring a daily program of films designed and conceived specifically for this immersive medium. The lineup is updated monthly with new titles and also includes temporary selections presented during festivals and special events.

Programme

CineVR2 | Until March 30, 2026

Simone “Funi” Fougnier (FuniLab)

Tales from Soda Island

(USA 2021-2023, 7 capitoli, VR360°, col., v.o.) 

The National Cinema Museum presents Tales from Soda Island, an immersive VR series created by Simone “Funi” Fougnier and produced by Studio Syro for Meta. From February to May, two episodes per month will be screened in the CineVR2, leading up to the grand finale of the seventh chapter. Entirely crafted in VR using Quill software, the series unfolds as a collection of short experiences set on an imaginary island, where everyday moments slip into myth and dream. Viewers are positioned as witnesses, moving through hand-drawn, living illustrations that envelop them at 360°, guided by music, sound, and gestures. The project elevates virtual reality as a poetic and narrative medium, blending animation, cinema, and sound design to create intimate worlds that feel both personal and collective. An immersive journey through the intricate musical ecosystem of Soda Island: amid multiverse bakeries, neon jungles, strange creatures, and cosmic symphonies, you'll witness a story unlike anything you've ever seen before.

Tales from Soda Island Trailer

Simone “Funi” Fougnier, known as FuniLab, is a visual artist and immersive director working at the intersection of sound and image. After nearly two decades in design and illustration for the music industry, he discovered virtual reality in 2017 and co-founded Studio Syro, a collective pioneering hand-painted storytelling in VR.

Funi’s practice blends painterly aesthetics with immersive technology to explore how music can become landscape and narrative can unfold as a living space. His acclaimed projects, including the surreal anthology Tales from Soda Island and the immersive album The Art of Change, have been showcased at Venice Immersive, SXSW, and the Dubai Museum of the Future. In 2025, he expanded his work into live performance, bringing fully VR-rendered visuals to the final Tipper & Friends show at Red Rocks. His creations dissolve the boundaries between audience and artwork, digital and physical, sound and sight — a space where music can be seen and images can be heard.

Chapter 1 - The Multiverse Bakery – 6’

Begin your journey to Soda Island. In the first chapter of the series, The Multiverse Bakery, you will witness a strange ritual with shifting rooms, magical chaos, and cosmic delights.  [Trailer]

Chapter 2 – The Neon Jungle – 11’ 

The journey continues to Soda Island, embarking on an adventure through the Neon Jungle, following a Tadpolotl on its mission to deliver a package through the twisted depths of the jungle.  [Trailer]

Chapter 3 - The Quantum Race - 11'

The big day has finally arrived! The Sodian people from across the island gather to watch the competition of the best pilots at the Quantum Circuit. Experience the thrill of high-octane speed and molecular deconstruction as the pilots race on a subatomic track to claim first prize. [Trailer]

Chapter 4 – The Golden Record – 17’

In the depths of the isolated Ant Megacolony lives TT, a solitary worker trapped in the oppressive productivity machine. His monotonous routine is disrupted by the discovery of an alien artifact fallen from the stars. [Trailer]

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CineVR is included in the Museum admission ticket.

Due to the immersive technology of VR devices, the use of VR headsets is allowed only to people over 12 and is not recommended to pregnant women, people with epilepsy, heart or visual conditions, and people with pace-makers, cochlear implants, hearing aids.