Octopocalypse
An interactive sci-fi immersive installation by Max Sacker and Arite Szadkowski (Luma Octo GbR, Berlin). Premiered in competition at Venice Immersive, La Biennale di Venezia 2026 (2–12 September, Lazaretto Vecchio).
After a meteor storm has almost destroyed civilisation, three people face an alien octopus that may help humanity rebuild. Will they interrogate it, or earn its trust?
The work
What would you do if you met an alien intelligence with power to shape humanity's future? Three participants enter an interrogation room after a meteor storm has almost destroyed civilisation. Before them is an alien octopus: fragile, prophetic, curious, and possibly able to help humanity rebuild.
Its attempts at contact arrive through music, touch, rhythm and visions. Octopocalypse unfolds as an interactive music video, a prophetic projection, a war-room experiment and an emotional test. Questions, button presses and rhythm change the outcome, as the group builds a track from patterns and musical impulses sent by the alien. The piece asks whether first contact is guided by curiosity and empathy, or by fear and control.
- Section: Venice Immersive, Official Selection, In Competition
- Festival: La Biennale di Venezia 2026
- Country: Germany
- Runtime: 40 minutes
- Participants: 3 per session
- Language: English
- Production: Luma Octo GbR
Venice Immersive 2026
Premiered at Lazaretto Vecchio, Venice, 2–12 September 2026. Planned capacity 396 people; an estimated 804 experienced it. 61% of participants voted to escape, 39% to stay.
Mix with Octi
A DJ game in the browser: mix tracks inspired by the Octopocalypse soundtrack with Octi, the alien octopus. Layer the tracks, drop loops and effects, and unlock new tools as you play. Works on desktop, tablet and phones held sideways.
Credits
- Directors: Max Sacker, Arite Szadkowski
- Screenplay: Max Sacker, Arite Szadkowski
- Prompting and Editing: Max Sacker
- Sound: Takuro Sakamoto
- Production Design: Arite Szadkowski
- Console Design: Marian Neulant
- Production: Luma Octo GbR
- Supported by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, German Films and Neulant van Exel
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