Four Chinese virtual reality films have been nominated for the 74th Venice International Film Festival, and will compete with their foreign rivals for three major prizes.

This year’s festival has unprecedentedly included VR into its official selections category where directors and content makers can be recognized for their work. The festival board has nominated 22 VR movies worldwide, offering three prizes including best VR film, grand VR jury prize, and best VR creativity award.

“Compared to our foreign counterparts, we still lag behind in terms of VR creation. If we focus on creating short VR films, centralizing resources, our work may be on par with Hollywood productions. But Hollywood’s advantages will emerge after it embraces the technology, which requires even more complicated procedures,” Mi Li, director of Pinta Studio, whose VR animation The Dream Collector has been nominated, told Thepaper.cn.

According to Mi, China have many talents in VR art creation, but the lack of cooperation and teamwork has become a shortcoming for the country’s VR movie industry.

“VR movie requires much more investment than traditional ones, thus our current goal is to focus on short VR movie production. No matter how advanced the technology is, it cannot reduce the time of making a good work,” said Mi.

The Dream Collector, a 11-miniute-long VR movie that tells the story of an elderly dream collector and his dog, has impressed many internet users with its beautiful design and thought-provoking storyline. The movie’s trailer has garnered over 200 million views on Sina Weibo as of press time, and has received positive reactions.

“By using VR technology, the movie offers foreign audiences a unique angle to understand Chinese people’s perception of dreams. VR films may become a new trend in the future, and Chinese artists should seize the initiative and lead the emerging industry,” wrote a netizen.