What if the menopause wasn’t an ending, but the beginning of a rebellion? The Baby Factory Is Closed is an award-winning, 20-minute interactive virtual reality story that puts you inside the body of Zoraan, a woman navigating the menopause in a near-future world of A.I. surveillance, climate collapse and systems determined to control her.

This is not a quiet story about ageing. It is funny, furious, surreal and unapologetically rebellious, and it turns the body itself into the battleground. The work is directed by Belfast XR Festival director Deepa Mann-Kler, with an original music composition by Katie Richardson.

Following sold-out international shows in the USA, Canada and France, the work comes home to Belfast XR Festival, presented as part of Belfast Film Festival. Its festival run includes official selections at SXSW 2026, Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2026, Galway Film Fleadh 2026, New Images 2026, FIVARS 2026, Manchester Animation Film Festival 2026, ART VR 2026 and Belfast Film Festival 2026, along with the V&A London Digital Design Weekend 2026.

You don’t need to understand VR and you don’t need to have experienced menopause. You just need to be willing to enter Zoraan’s world. Multiple headsets run in parallel through the day, with half-hour slots between 10am and 4pm and six places per slot, so numbers are limited and early booking is advised. The experience is for ages 16 and over. The Black Box is a fully accessible venue in the Cathedral Quarter, a short walk from Belfast city centre.

Tickets are £7. Book through Belfast Film Festival at belfastfilmfestival.org/event/the-baby-factory-is-closed. The Baby Factory Is Closed runs in the Green Room at The Black Box on Monday 2 November 2026 only.

Belfast XR Festival is Northern Ireland’s festival of immersive and extended reality. This year’s short run at The Black Box also features Escape the Internet by Lucas Rizzotto, a massive multiplayer game for over a hundred players at a time, on the evenings of Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 November.