The current average life expectancy is somewhere between 69 and 74 years. But how much time do we have as a mankind? The scientific estimates vary from 7 million to 1.3 billion years. Some say that humanity has already reached half of its time on Earth. And with the climate crisis, many believe that although we may be here for quite a while, our world will soon rapidly change. Within 75 years, one quarter of all the fauna will disappear and many animal species will become extinct.

Great civilisation changes have been reflected in cinema since its beginnings. The same goes for the works of contemporary XR artists. Virtual reality becomes a space where these themes are explored with a new intensity. One of the frequent topics in VR films is the evolution of Anthropocene – be it the impact of contemporary geopolitical crises on individuals (Fresh Memories: The Look, On the Morning You Wake (to the End of the World)), or a radically changing landscape (21-22 China and 21-22 USA, The Shape of Us). Many VR filmmakers go beyond the horizon of humanity and look into the near future. Will machines and AI have emotions one day (My Name Is 090)? How will the new artificial worlds look like (Utility Room? And will the planet be able to clean itself from our impact (Let Nature Heal)?

Some artists approach the questions of our future through dreamlike or even transcendental delicacy. In their imaginations, they take us to the underworld of modern civilization (Simple Songs About Death), to the forests of interspecies fragility (Origen) or to the flowing gusts of everyday reality (Flow). What will remain of these worlds and visions in millions of years?