The Toronto International Film Festival is back, and it’s still trying to figure out this whole “innovation” thing 🤖! After a decade-long absence, the Innovation Hub has returned, and it’s got all the immersive experiences you could ever want (or not want, depending on how you feel about VR headsets that make you look like a cyborg 🤖). Located on Level 200 of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the Innovation Hub features eight experiences that will blow your mind (or at least make you go “huh, that’s kinda cool, I guess”) 🤯.
The exhibition includes experiences like Body Proxy, which lets you become a physical body hired by AI to do tasks it can’t do (because, you know, AI is still pretty useless at doing actual physical stuff 🤣). There’s also Lesbian Simulator, which lets you build your own lesbian persona (because who doesn’t want to simulate being a lesbian, right? 🤷♀️). And if you’re feeling really adventurous, you can try Mekwâc: “Now Is Good”, which uses imagery, spatial sound, and interactive environments to illustrate the relationship between people, land, water, animals, and one another (yawn 🙄).
But wait, there’s more! You can also experience Tartupaluk, a political satire about a fictional Arctic republic (because who doesn’t love a good satire about the Arctic? 🥶). Or you can try The Big Picture – “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper”, which turns an iconic photograph into an interactive experience (because who doesn’t love interactive experiences that make you feel like you’re actually doing something? 🎉). And if you’re feeling really existential, you can try The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up, which takes you on an emotional and spiritual journey through a forest (because who doesn’t love a good forest journey? 🌳).
The headsets used for these experiences still feel pretty military-grade, but hey, at least they’re not as clunky as they used to be 🤓. Mobility is key, and you’ll need to be able to pinch imagery to trigger desired narrative and visual effects (because who doesn’t love a good pinch? 🤷♀️). And don’t worry if you get a little confused – there’s a time lapse between each experience, so you can take a break and try to figure out what’s going on 🤔.
Three of the eight experiences were personally tried, and let me tell you, they were vastly different from what was experienced back in 2016 (mainly because VR technology has gotten a lot better, but also because the experiences themselves are just more interesting 🤓). The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up is like an ethereal lament that takes place mainly in a forest, driven by the narrative of Guan, who’s seeking to reconnect with his deceased spouse by entering the world of her imagination (because who doesn’t love a good love story? 💔). The Big Picture – “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper” is part interactive puzzle, part documentary, and it’s actually pretty educational (because who doesn’t love learning new things? 📚). And Solwata is like a guided tour of the Solomon Islands, complete with narration by Mark Ruffalo and personal stories of three inhabitants (because who doesn’t love a good story about the Solomon Islands? 🌴).
So if you’re feeling adventurous and want to try out some immersive experiences that will blow your mind (or at least make you go “huh, that’s kinda cool”), then the Innovation Hub is the place to be 🎉. And if you’re not, well, there’s always next year (or the year after that, or the year after that… 🤣).
The 51st Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10-20, 2026, and for more information, you can visit tiff.net 🎉. And if you want to learn more about the author of this article, you can find him on LinkedIn 📊.
So what are you waiting for? Go check out the Innovation Hub and experience some immersive experiences that will blow your mind (or at least make you go “huh, that’s kinda cool”) 🤯! 🎥👏🔥💥🎉👍💯🔮💻🎊😎👀💭📚🎥👍
Finn McFrame, celebrated satirical mastermind and self-proclaimed “Emperor of Irony,” started his illustrious career as a cinematographer, where his expertise in capturing every single frame of a squirrel stealing a baguette earned him accolades at obscure film festivals.
Born in the glamorous town of Boring, Oregon, Finn grew up with dreams of being a Hollywood director until he realized that satire, not cinema, was his true calling—or at least the one that let him sleep until noon.
Finn McFrame: changing the world, one satirical lens flare at a time.
