CinemaLeap to Unveil Nijo Castle x Kento Mori XR Work at Cannes Film Festival's "Japan Immersive Showcase" and Speak at Main Stage during Japan's "Country of Honour" Event

CinemaLeap Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Tetsuya Ohashi; hereinafter "CinemaLeap") is pleased to announce its participation in the "Marché du Film" (Film Market) held concurrently with the 79th Cannes International Film Festival in France in May 2026. As Japan gains attention as the "Country of Honour," CinemaLeap will speak at an official panel discussion and exhibit its latest XR work within the official program of the festival's "Immersive" section, specifically at the "Japan Immersive Showcase."

■ Background: Japan Featured as "Country of Honour"

At the Marché du Film in 2026, Japan has been selected as the "Country of Honour." Amidst this global attention, CinemaLeap, which operates the large-scale XR facility "Immersive Journey" in Japan, will globally promote the future of next-generation Location-Based Entertainment (LBE) originating from Japan, leveraging cultural heritage and IP.

■ Panel Discussion: A New Era of LBE in Japan

CinemaLeap will participate in a session on the main stage of the "Marché du Film," discussing how cultural heritage and IP are redefined by XR.

Title: A New Era of LBE in Japan: How XR Redefines Cultural Heritage and the Future of Global IP

Date: May 15, 2026, 11:30 - 12:30

Location: Marché du Film Main Stage

Content: The discussion will cover immersive experience projects themed around Ukiyo-e, visions for collaboration with global IPs, and the technological innovations supporting them.

■ Immersive Showcase: Exhibition of "Nijo Castle" XR work in collaboration with Sony Corporation

As an official program of the Cannes International Film Festival "Immersive" section, an exhibition event "Japan Immersive Showcase" will be held, gathering excellent XR works from Japan. Within this event, CinemaLeap, with technical cooperation from Sony Corporation, will premiere a pilot version of its latest XR work set in the World Heritage site Nijo Castle.

Exhibition Date and Time: May 16, 2026, 21:00 - 24:00

Venue: Special venue within the Carlton Hotel

Work Concept: Under the theme of "Where the beauty of tradition resonates with modern dynamics, giving birth to new legends," visitors can enjoy an active narrative experience with world-renowned dance artist Kento Mori, purifying otherworldly threats from ancient times through "dance."

Production Points:

Multiplayer Synchronized XR: CinemaLeap's independently developed system allows multiple users to share real-time positions and movements within the same virtual space.

Realistic Recreation of Nijo Castle's Ninomaru Palace "Ohiroma": The "Ohiroma" (Grand Hall) of Nijo Castle's Ninomaru Palace is faithfully reproduced in VR space, offering an overwhelming sense of realism.

Multi-faceted Performance Expression:

With technical cooperation from Sony Corporation, Kento Mori's dance seamlessly transforms from photo-realistic light expression to a 3D avatar using Dynamic 3D Gaussian Splatting and motion capture.

■ Comment from Tetsuya Ohashi, Representative Director, CinemaLeap Co., Ltd.

"As Japan is introduced as the Country of Honour, providing this excellent opportunity to appeal to film industry professionals worldwide, we will share how XR-powered Location-Based Entertainment is expanding in Japan, the potential of immersive content that will be created from Japan in the future, and the challenges CinemaLeap is undertaking!"

■ What is "IMMERSIVE JOURNEY"?

"IMMERSIVE JOURNEY" is one of Japan's largest large-scale XR experience facilities, opened in Yokohama in December 2024. A second store opened in Nagoya in January 2026. A third store is also scheduled to open in the commercial facility "Pacela" in Hiroshima in spring 2027.

Visitors wearing head-mounted displays can freely walk through vast spaces, enjoying an immersive experience as if traveling to another world. Groups of up to four people can experience it simultaneously, offering XR content of unprecedented scale that transcends the constraints of time and place.

Since its opening, the Yokohama and Nagoya stores combined have attracted over 200,000 visitors, receiving high praise from many customers.

■ About CinemaLeap Co., Ltd.

Established in 2019, our company is a creative company that provides new XR experiences centered on storytelling.