The contrast between the two immersive Luxembourg films on show at the Entre réflexions et immersion exhibition at the Ratskeller as part of the 15th Luxembourg City Film Festival begins with the way that the audience watches and interacts with the stories.

Ceci est mon cœur (This is my heart), by brothers Stéphane Hueber-Blies and Nicolas Blies, is an introspective, semi-autobiographical story about a boy coming to terms with different facets of his own body. The audience, donning earphones and a heavy quilted cloak that lights up in synchronicity with the poetic rhythm of the text and music, is free to wander around between screens showing motion capture animation that illustrates the narrative.

The Blies brothers have created a deeply moving sensory meditation on sexual abuse, illness, body shaming, guilt and the struggle to find the freedom to love. They have rightly described Ceci est mon cœur as balletic – the visuals shown on screens around the installation are beautifully choreographed outlines of real human movement, some dramatic and arresting, others sensual and graceful. The audience is sucked even further into the experience by the LED lights sewn into the cloaks, meaning that the other people watching seem to become part of the film, adding another dimension to the experience.

These visual elements work superbly in tandem with the spoken word – available in English or French – which is at times lyrical and heart-breaking, sometimes pulsating and disquieting, and yet again at other times calming and pensive.

The music, composed by Nicolas, comprises beguiling cello and classical guitar when that is what is required, while jarring electronic beats and glitches drive the more frenetic sequences.

“For me, it is beautiful, singular and luminous,” the narrator says of his own story at one stage. And that sums up Ceci est mon cœur succinctly.

Oto’s Planet by Gwenael François has won several prizes for its interactive immersive storytelling © Photo credit: Skill Lab

Oto’s Planet is a more traditionally constructed narrative but still takes the audience to another world completely. The planet on which Oto, who might be the first eco-warrior in outer space, and his dog Skippy live is dominated by a tree that bears a bright pink fruit. This seems to be Oto’s main source of sustenance and also provides shade for the hammock in which he likes to lounge.

When hyperactive cosmonaut Exo crash lands on the planet, the scene is set for a battle of wits as the two men fight to secure access to the fruit tree. What at first seems like a cute story is revealed to be a much darker tale of territorial claim, communication breakdown and environmental preservation.

Oto’s Planet, by Gwenael François, requires the viewer to wear a headset that allows them to interact, using hand movements, with the eponymous planet that becomes a battleground between the placid and pastoral Oto and the excitable space explorer Exo.

Technology allows the viewer to interact with Oto to drive the narrative and to also rotate the planer to gain different views of the stage on which the story is being played out. The animation is witty and charming, while the clean, elegant music by Metz-based electronic composer Chapelier Fou sits well with a film that is aimed at audiences of all ages.

Oto’s Planet is an engaging and delightful experience that won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival last year but watch out for the fake credits that appear around half-way through the film.

Entre réflexions et immersion is on daily at the Ratskeller, Rue du Curé, in Luxembourg City, from 11:00 to 19:00. Entrance is free but booking a time slot for either immersive film is advisable, especially on weekends.