FIVARS returned with a preview pavilion at the VRTO Virtual & Augmented Reality World Conference & Expo in June 2016[6][7] and to Camp Wavelength[8] in August of the same year.
[11] The festival featured 30 selections - each enhanced by a haptic backpack created by Subpac[12] FIVARS Festival Explores Human Experience Through Virtual Reality, in addition to a custom 3D Audio Chamber created by David McKevy and an augmented reality art gallery by artist Daniel Leighton and presentation by Joergen Geerds of KonceptVR and Daniel Burwen of Jaunt XR.
[16] The 2018 took place at the legendary Matador Ballroom - a famous after-hours club and public hall about which Leonard Cohen wrote the song "Closing Time" in 1992.
These various elements were outlined at length in a Medium article penned by Malicki-Sanchez, and a 2-hour interview with Kent Bye on the Voices of VR podcast.
[21] The 6th edition of the festival featured here are 39 official selections from 16 countries — including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Korea, New Zealand, Poland, Qatar, Spain, and Sweden — chosen from among the more than 200 entries, including a documentary about a restored ship once owned by John Steinbeck,[22] and the world premiere of a new single released by ambient music composer Steve Roach, created by Audri Phillips.
Among the selections in the catalog was a stereoscopic spherical documentary by Gary Yost and award-winning film director Adam Loften titled "Inside COVID19" that follows Dr. Josiah Child, battling on the front lines as the novel coronavirus spreads.
The event also operated pop-ups for in-person attendees to view the interactive content at Stackt in Toronto - a co-op artist compound and marketplace made entirely out of shipping containers.
The 10th showcase for the festival featured a world premiere by Jacquelyn Ford Morie called "When Pixels Were Precious" operating in VRChat as a form of guided tour in Virtual Reality looking at her early digital graphics work in the 1980s.
Additionally, the festival showcased a three-part opera "Antigone's Gone" in 360 degrees filmed in India, Indonesia, North Africa and the Middle East, and new works from Wales, Japan, USA, Australia, Canada, UK, Netherlands, France, Germany, and Israel.
The festival also debuted new virtual reality theater works: "Offrail", in addition to "MetaMovie: Alien Rescue," and "We Should Meet in Air" - a telephonic immersive experience reenacting a live conversation with author Sylvia Plath.
The online version of the festival picked up a nomination for Innovator of the Year at the 2024 Poly Awards, dedicated to acknowledging excellence in WebXR development.
On Monday, September 21 the festival announced People's Choice awards for two categories at the Cadillac Lounge[31] - a music venue and restaurant in Toronto.