Ahh…virtual reality is all grown up. Still from BUTTS dir. Tyler Hurd

On Wednesday, September 23rd the inaugural Kaleidoscope VR Film Festival will make its way to Los Angeles.

As VR technology grows by leaps and bounds and the interest in VR rapidly expands, VR agency Kaleidoscope has gathered together a group of VR filmmakers and short films that they feel strongly represent the vast potential of VR.

“The aim of the Kaleidoscope film festival is to create a space for independent artists and audiences alike,” says Kaleidoscope co-founder Michael Breymann in their press release. “The line-up we have selected showcases today’s best and brightest VR filmmakers, and we are thrilled to share these immersive and interactive stories with audiences as the festival tours around North America.”

While there are no horror films showcased this time around the films they chose are bold, brave, and entirely unique.

Films include “Kurios”, a promo video showcasing Cirque du Soleil’s “The Box of Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities” stage show. The film gives viewers a way to get up close and personal with the performers of the famed circus.

His work is great, but that Vincent guy’s kind of intense. Still from THE NIGHT CAFÉ dir. MAC CAULEY

“The Night Café” showcases VR’s vast imagination. In “Café” the viewer is immersed within Vincent van Gogh’s painting of the same title. The opportunity to walk into a van Gogh painting, as well as the imagination behind “The Night Café” sounds simply incredible.

VR showcasing serious situations. Still from DMZ: MEMORIES OF A NO MAN’S LAND dir. HAYOUN KWON

Other films, such as “The Nepal Quake Project”, “Welcome to Aleppo” and “DMZ: Memories of a No Man’s Land” take the viewer around the world, giving them an up-close view of the very real devastation happening today. The Nepalese earthquake, the Syrian civil war and the border between North and South Korea are on full display. Short films such as these highlight global tragedies, immersing the viewer in moments of human struggle.

You can, like, feel the colors, man. Still from SIGHTLINE: THE CHAIR dir. TOMÁŠ MARIANČÍK

A shining example of VR’s scope and imagination are on full display with“Sightline: the Chair”. The film has a strong reputation within the VR community . This film is a surreal VR experience in which the movement of one’s VR headpiece causes a chain reaction of the world around the viewer.

Wednesday evening brings these, as well as several more short films, to LA River Studios in Cypress Park. Four of the filmmakers will be there to talk about their VR experiences. The event is sold out, but for those who are curious, many of the short films can be downloaded from the film festival website.

All of these films showcase the scope, range and power of VR, but there is also the opportunity for humor within VR. Tyler Hurd’s “Butts” has the distinction of being the first animated cartoon ever made for virtual reality. It is described as a film full of childhood wonder, where the audience learns love, trust, and what it means to be truly free.

And butts. Lots of butts.

Count me in.