The 2nd annual 360-degree film festival and conference, running October 6-9, features full-dome, fully immersive 360-degree media shows, presentations, industry panels, interactive workshops, and keynotes by industry leaders.
Dome Fest West 2022 returns for its second annual edition to the Orange Coast College Community Planetarium in Costa Mesa, CA with a full slate of 360-degree Media Shows and Full-Dome Films, as well as keynotes by top industry professionals. The event runs October 6-8 with a final awards ceremony taking place on October 9. Tickets and information are available here.
The annual, 360-degree film festival and conference bring together Hollywood filmmakers and up-and-coming immersive content creators. This year’s event will screen a selection of fully immersive, full-dome, 360-degree media shows and include presentations on new technology, industry panels, interactive workshops, industry gatherings, and parties. Organizers expect up to 300 immersive filmmakers will attend this year’s festival, which will run in-person and online.
The keynote speakers for Dome Fest West 2022:
October 7 at 3 PM PST
Ed Lantz: "The Metaverse, Domes, and XR Stages: A Grand Convergence?”
The Dome Fest West co-founder will discuss how convergence will create new opportunities for immersive storytelling and experiences, with the dome format being well suited for large-scale events, while the XR Stage offers a more intimate and personal experience.
According to Lantz, “the Metaverse provides a platform for both dome-based and XR Stage-based experiences.”
October 8 at 11 AM PST
Carolyn Collins Petersen: “It All Began in a Cave: The Immersive Experience”
Loch Ness Productions’ CEO will cover how, from the earliest cave paintings in Lascaux, France, to today's worlds in Metaspace and out-of-home entertainment venues, people have used immersive environments to cross space and time, explore new worlds, and be exposed to new viewpoints.
A member of the IMERSA Board of Directors Collins will talk about the future of immersion by way of past experiences with the medium and will also touch upon IMERSA's role at the crossroads of immersive theater, AR, VR, and XR experiences.
October 9 at 11 AM PST
Nanea Reeves: “Final Keynote”
Reeves is the founder of TRIPP, a global XR Wellness company.
2022’s Highlighted Media Shows and Full-Dome Films:
Lands of the Americas: Produced by Pascal Pelletier and directed by Patrick Bossé, this film presents the life story of multidisciplinary artist René Derouin, who, in 2016, celebrated his 80th birthday and 60 years of artistic practice.
Bébé Symphonique: Produced by Nicolas Lemieux (GSI Musique,) and directed by Marcella Grimaux (Noisy Head Studio,) this project combines 2D, 3D, and frame-by-frame animation into a family-friendly, multimedia show that transports children from birth to 18 months – along with their parents - into a universe of shapes, colors and textures designed to capture their attention. The film is set to music performed by the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.
Last Whispers: Produced and directed by Lena Herzog, the film depicts the extinction of various indigenous languages. Today, out of the 7,000 languages remaining on Earth, only 30 are spoken by most of the world’s population. It is estimated that at least half of the planet’s currently spoken languages will have died out by the end of this century. The film addresses this rapid, mass extinction of many languages.
Star Dreaming: An odyssey through time and space, the film presents two children as they explore the mysteries of the Universe by observing the world’s oldest living culture and the world’s largest radio telescope, both located deep in the arid heartland of the Murchison region of Western Australia – the Australian Outback.
-22.7°C: Produced by Pascal Pelletier (Zorba, Production 21,) and directed by Dirty Monitor, Société des arts technologiques, viewers take a musical journey to some of the sources of creative inspiration on the world’s largest Island, Greenland. There, electronic music producer Molécule has captured the sounds of the Arctic, where he has composed his latest work.
Dome Fest West 2022 is one of four qualifying full-dome festivals for the #BestOfEarth Awards, which will take place on March 25, 2023. The other included festivals are the Full Dome Festival, Jena, Germany; Full Dome UK in Plymouth, UK; and the Dome Under Festival in Melborne, Australia.
Films selected for exhibit at any of the four festivals are automatically qualified for consideration for the #BestOfEarth award, the highest honor a full-dome film can receive within the global immersive cinema community. DFW Executive Director Ryan Moore, and co-founders Lantz and Kate McCallum, worked with Micky Remann to produce #BestOfEarth as a response to the COVID crisis, which compromised many of the traditional festival outlets for the recognition of artists’ work.
Source: Dome Fest West
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
