Kaohsiung’s XR Awards Put the Port City on the Map for Immersive Startups

Awards night signals a working market, not just a showcase

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan — The Kaohsiung Film Festival honored winners of its XR International Competition on October 24 at the Kaohsiung Public Library Main Branch, with 23 immersive works from 15 countries vying for top prizes. The jury presented the XR Golden Fireball Award [XR金火球大獎], XR Immersive Experience Award [XR沉浸體驗獎], VR360 Narrative Award [VR360敘事獎] and an XR Jury Special Mention [XR評審團特別提及獎]. The Golden Fireball went to director Chen Xinyi [陳芯宜] for “Clouds at Two Thousand Meters” [雲在兩千米], and the Immersive Experience Award went to “Hacker Gang of Five” [駭客搞五人]. Official competition details were confirmed by the festival. Festival news

Global IP meets Taiwan originals at XR DREAMLAND

The TTXC x Kaohsiung Film Festival’s XR DREAMLAND platform paired curation, real-world testing and industry matchmaking in one city. Its spotlight lineup included the 90‑minute VR interactive “Mobile Suit Gundam: Silver Phantom” [機動戰士鋼彈：銀灰的幻影], the multiuser VR “Titanic: Echoes of the Past” [鐵達尼：往日回聲], and an MR title narrated by Tilda Swinton. The mix of world-class IP and local originals matches the event’s stated focus. Program list News report

Pricing shows a path to product, not just buzz

XR DREAMLAND published clear ticketing on OPENTIX: general admission NT$300, special programs NT$899, and a VIP Pass at NT$4,000. Early-bird rates were NT$250, NT$699 and NT$3,500. The “Silver Phantom” page specified an interaction format and a maximum session length of 110 minutes, underscoring a consumer-facing approach that allows creators to validate experience design and throughput. OPENTIX ticketing

Industry week ties the festival to buyers

TTXC’s 2025 edition ran October 10–26 at the Pier‑2 Art Center and other sites, linking an international conference with XR DREAMLAND and the Taiwan Creative Content Agency’s INNOVATIONS zone. The city said XR DREAMLAND presented 35 works and INNOVATIONS displayed nearly 70, while the October 21–26 industry week scheduled more than 30 professional sessions and matchups. A 2024 prototype of the format featured 20 talks, 45 international filmmakers, about 100 Taiwan XR teams and 30 one‑on‑one mentor meetings. Ministry of Culture Kaohsiung City 2024 industry week

Permanent testbeds make iteration easier

The Kaohsiung Film Archive’s VR Motion Theater reopened on January 17, 2025 with upgraded wireless headsets and a 360 auditorium schedule, giving creators year‑round access to a public testing venue. The city’s VR FILM LAB, launched in 2017 out of Kaohsiung Film Festival’s in‑house VR program, is billed as Taiwan’s first VR venue built around 8K 3D standards, extending festival momentum into a permanent showcase. VR Motion Theater VR FILM LAB

Public support closes the loop

Policy backing helps turn prototypes into products. The Ministry of Culture’s Cultural Black Tide XR guidelines, published January 22, 2024, set caps of up to NT$3 million for concept development, NT$6 million for production, and NT$12 million for multiuser projects. Combined with venues, buyers and brand partners clustered in one district, the city pitches itself as a full‑chain sandbox that compresses time from testing to distribution.

Impact

Why it matters

XR makers often struggle to find a single place where curation, testing, financing and buyers overlap. Kaohsiung’s model compresses that journey. World‑recognizable IP draws audiences, transparent ticketing proves demand, and a stacked industry week puts investors and distributors within walking distance. Add public grants and permanent testbeds, and the city positions itself as one of Asia’s easiest places to build and ship an immersive experience at reasonable cost and speed.

Statistics

Zoom-out

From port warehouses to Pier‑2 and the main library, Kaohsiung has assembled a repeatable route from demo to deal. The city layers curation, public venues and an industry calendar that attracts branded IP and indie creators alike. For teams building XR, interactive storytelling, virtual production or motion‑based content, the proposition is simple: build, test, price and pitch without leaving the neighborhood.