INTERACTIVE AND IMMERSIVE: FLAGSHIP PROJECTS + INTERNATIONALPROMOTION STRATEGIESEncounters with major players on the international scene and discussions focusing on the key strategies to implement for the future of these works that push the bounds of immersion and interactivity. 10am SÓNAR+DA gathering that brings together creative, technological and cultural industry professionals. SÓNAR +D’s mission is presented here by its passionate curator.With José Luis de Vicente 10:30 KAREN: A SINGULAR LIFE COACHKaren is an app that mixes together gaming, storytelling and psychological profiling. Blast Theory shares its story and production secrets.With Kirsty Jennings 12pm LUNCH 1pm THE MACHINE TO BE ANOTHER : THROUGH THE OTHER’S EYEInspired by recent findings in neuroscience, the Machine to Be Another is an investigation into the relationship between identity and empathy. An encounter with the lab’s researchers.With BeAnotherLab 1:45pm THE DEEPER THEY BURY METhe authors present their interactive portrait of defiance: an indictment of a criminal justice system that keeps 2.3 million citizens behind bars.With Angad Singh Bhalla, Aylwin Lo and Nicolas Brault 2:30pm ROUND TABLE: INTERACTIVE AND IMMERSIVE WORKSA discussion on how interactive and immersive works circulate in festivals, exhibition venues and online. What strategies are needed to make these productions visible and accessible?With Pierre Cattan , Marie-Pier Gauthier, Bruno Smadja and Jean-Christophe Yacono 3:30pm RESEARCH AND CREATION AT HEXAGRAM-UQAMHexagram-UQAM brings together researchers specializing in the creation and study of art that uses digital or analogue technologies. Portrait of a media incubator.With Jean Décarie 4pm OPENING OF THE HEXAGRAM-UQAM EXPERIMENTATION ROOM: LAUNCH OF NEW STORYTELLING EXHIBITION 5pm OPENING COCKTAIL PARTY
José Luis de Vicente is a new media curator based in Barcelona. He is curator of SÓNAR +D, the creative technologies congress within Barcelona’s acclaimed SÓNAR festival. He is also a curator for FutureEverything, Manchester’s festival of digital culture, and has produced numerous exhibitions, symposiums and conferences.
Kirsty is responsible for developing and delivering Blast Theory’s business strategy, which allows artists to continue to make innovative and engaging work. Before joining Blast Theory, Kirsty worked for Sheffield Doc/Fest, 104 Films and Documentary Campus.
Mads Damsbo’s expérience in filmmaking and storytelling, combined with a passion for new technology, art and design, has spurred a handful of progressive projects that all seek to challenge the way good stories come to life.
In 2011 Johan proclaimed that he would go wherever his films might take him. That has since become the credo of all his endeavours in film and art. After releasing a number of short films and documentaries, Johan presented the multi-POV virtual reality film installation The Doghouse.
BeAnotherLab is a collective that aims to understand, reproduce and communicate subjective experiences to create bonding and empathy between individuals. They integrate techniques from performance art, neuroscience, virtual reality and telepresence to create the illusion of seeing through the eyes of another.
Passionate about using media as a tool for political change, Angad Singh Bhalla uses film to highlight voices we rarely hear. His debut feature documentary Herman’s House, screened at over 40 festivals, won an Emmy award for its 2013 PBS POV broadcast.
Pierre Cattan is the CEO and founder of Small Bang, a creative studio based in Paris. He has produced Cinemacity (Arte 2013) and Birdlab, a free participatory science game. Pierre also produces and designs live shows for Mediapart.
Jean-Christophe Yacono, aka yako, is a French Canadian author, director and producer. Known for his avant-garde approach to interactive, immersive and participatory experience design, he is considered one of the most innovative creative directors in the field. He is a signatory of the Manifeste pour les Nouvelles Écritures.
Nicolas Brault won the National Film Board of Canada’s Cinéaste recherché(e) contest in 2000. Since then, his films have earned him numerous awards in festivals. The Circus (2011) had him vying for the Best Animated Film at the 37th Cesar Awards ceremony. Since 2012, he has developed a series of non-narrative short films and immersive projections around the human body. He worked on the animation of The Deeper They Bury Me.
Marie-Pier Gauthier contributes to all projects produced by the NFB’s interactive studio, a narrative laboratory. A graduate of the interactive production program at INIS, she led the development of TV5video.ca and has worked with private producers (TOXA) on documentary convergence projects.
Neam Cathod-Jean Décarie has worked in media arts since 1977, starting as an electroacoustic composer before becoming a video maker and multidisciplinary artist in 1982.
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