Sony Pictures Imageworks CTO Mike Ford and Head of Production Mandy Tankenson co-chair the 7th edition which returns to Hollywood November 6-9; the event celebrates the convergence of art, technology and entertainment.
The Infinity Festival (IF), a celebration of the convergence of art, technology, and entertainment, returns to Hollywood November 6-9. The event, heading into its seventh year, takes place at The Aster and Avalon Hollywood. Also revealed, this year’s festival co-chairs are Sony Pictures Imageworks CTO Mike Ford and Sony Pictures Imageworks head of production Mandy Tankenson.
This year the festival sets out to establish itself as a premier entertainment industry event, tailored to industry professionals and creatives. The program will focus on the intersection of Hollywood and Silicon Valley and will feature immersive technology, virtual production, 5G, remote collaboration, Web3, Cloud and spotlight A.I. Innovative technologies including those which leverage new pipelines and stand poised to revolutionize Hollywood’s creative and production realms.
Also, this year, the festival aims to elevate the attendee experience, moving to venues and amenities that include gourmet food options, white glove service, and valet parking.
"We are thrilled to bring Infinity Festival back with an incredible lineup of sponsors, programming, experiential branding and more,” said festival’s founder and CEO Mark Lieber and its chief creative officer Adam Newman. “The addition of industry leaders like Mike Ford and Mandy Tankenson as our festival co-chairs underscores our commitment to pushing the boundaries of innovation in entertainment, as well as re-teaming with leaders in high-performance AI workstations and solutions with Z by HP, NVIDIA, and Intel. Since the inception of the Infinity Festival, they all have played a pivotal role, influencing our themes and programming. Their ongoing partnership underscores our commitment to innovation and excellence in the realms of AI and technology, making 2024 our most dynamic and engaging event yet."
Ford and Tankenson said in a joint statement: "Creating, innovating and entertaining is at the core of everything we do at Imageworks. We are honored to co-chair Infinity Festival 2024 and look forward to bringing together some of today’s most exciting storytellers and technologists who push boundaries and make the impossible possible."
PRG (Production Resource Group), provider of cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions, will provide services to enhance the festival's presentation of the latest in entertainment technology and immersive experiences.
“We see the best events being treated as highly sophisticated televised productions with great content, high-quality production resources and innovation powering deep engagement,” said Production Services VP Jeroen Hallaert. “The addition of real-time interactive moments ensures that the most precious commodity, attention, stays with the programming. Our approach to Infinity Festival weaves these elements together. We're honored to work with the festival to bring the attendee experience to an unprecedented level."
Infinity Festival highlights include:
- Student Lab Programming: Presented In collaboration with institutions including USC, UCLA, Emerson College, The Los Angeles Film School, Otis College, Gnomon, Chapman University, LMU, University of Texas, CSUN, and UCI. More participant announcements are coming.
- SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit and Leadership Awards: Hosted by Women in Technology: Hollywood Foundation.
- Start-Up Exhibition Pavilion: Highlighting innovative new companies.
- Curated Gaming and Immersive Exhibitions: Highlighting the latest breakthroughs in technology and interactive entertainment with a focus on AI.
The festival’s presenting sponsors include Z By HP NVIDIA and Intel. Program and promotional partners include the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, HPA, ETC at USC, VES, AILA, and WiTH. More sponsor announcements are coming. This year’s presenting media sponsor is Deadline with additional media partnership from Outfront Media.
2024 speaker announcements are coming soon. Previous edition speakers included director Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse), actor/producer Brie Larson (Marvel’s Captain Marvel), actor / producer Joseph Gordon-Levitt (founder of the online media platform, HitRecord), media personality Van Jones, Emmy award-winning director Elijah Allan-Blitz (The Messy Truth in VR), and new media artist Refik Anadol.
Early Bird tickets are on sale now. Additional information and tickets are available here.
Source: Infinity Festival
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
