AUSTIN, Texas - The future of cinema may be virtual. Among the highlights at this year’s South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, are VR cinema projects, which are thoroughly immersive and may dramatically influence the future of filmmaking.

This year you’ll find 25 projects on display ranging from 5 to 40 minutes in length.

Spectrum News staff member Develon Douglas purchased a VR headset last year and was, in his words, “blown away” by some of the films on display at the Virtual Cinema showcase.

Among the highlights for Douglas was “Space Explorers: A New Dawn.” Douglas described the film as a “masterfully produced documentary short giving viewers an immersive tour through contemporary NASA training procedures and future space exploration plans.”

Douglas said another standout is a film called “The Sun Ladies.” Douglas said the film uses a “potent blend of narration over animated and live action content to tell the story of an all-female unit fighting against ISIS in Iraq.”

Douglas’ third pick is a film called “Dinner Party.” Said Douglas: “Dinner Party dramatizes the story of Betty and Barney Hill, a couple who in 1961 reported the first nationally known UFO abduction. It utilizes a creative mix of real-world audio recordings, actor performances and CGI."

A complete list of VR films on display at SXSW is available here