FilmGate Interactive Speakers & Special Guests

New York-based writer, curator, and artist exploring craft-led experimentation and sustainability in architecture and design

Alain C. Brusch holds the position of Global Head of Digital Platforms at Art Basel, where he is integral to the digital evolution of one of the world’s most influential art fairs.

Alec J. Warren, director of the Frost Planetarium since 2023, brings over 15 years of informal education experience to the Frost Science team. He focuses on enhancing the museum's mission through hands-on programming, science shows, exhibits, and technology-based learning activities. Previously, he was the education manager at the Museum of Science & History in Jacksonville, Florida, where he served in various roles and became a nationally certified STEM educator. Alec curated signature exhibitions and developed award-winning K-12 programs.

Alexandre Merbouti is a musician and multi-disciplinary artist residing between Miami and Los Angeles. He is known for electrifying audiences with his band Haute Tension as well as his many other music and artistic ventures.

Alyssa Landry is a seasoned Creative Director and award-winning Show Writer, known for creating ground-breaking XR narratives, interactive theme park entertainment and experiential events.

Producer & project manager of immersive (AR/VR/XR) experiences, apps, AI-powered systems, digital/mobile-first products and games at institutional & agile studios with emphasis on stakeholder and client management.

Audrey is a seasoned French-Canadian XR producer who began her career in film and TV, producing over 40 films, series, and web series. In 2010, she led Canada’s first OTT platform at the public broadcaster, pioneering digital rights and original content strategy. In 2016, Audrey transitioned to VR and AR, establishing herself as a sought-after consultant, executive producer, and industry mentor. She launched *Marco and Polo Go Round*, a VR film on love and relationships, which gained global acclaim. In 2023, Audrey joined Blanca Li’s team, driving distribution, production, and new projects for their innovative XR studio.

Before founding Floréal in 2014, Avi Amar worked
with several production companies before joining
Orange Studio. Since the creation of Floréal, he
has passionately produced films from different
universes and formats that have been selected
and won awards at many prestigious festivals
(Cristal d'Annecy, Grand Prize in Venice, selected
at the Directors' Fortnight, nominated at the
Emmy Awards, etc...). Avi Amar has always sought
to support and fervently defend the talents who
trust him, placing high standards, innovation,
desire and artistic sensibility at the heart of his
company.

Beth Boone is the Artistic & Executive Director of Miami Light Project. Her thirty-five-year career in the arts includes extensive experience and accomplishment in programming, curating, fundraising, organizational development, and public advocacy and encompasses positions in the corporate, higher education, and nonprofit sectors.

Bianca Shonee Arroyo-Kreimes, known as Shonee, is a Montreal-based Costa Rican-Canadian digital media artist and MFA candidate in Intermedia at Concordia University. A recipient of the 2021 EQ Bank Emerging Digital Artists Award, her work has been showcased at MUTEK, the National Film Board of Canada, and Filmgate Miami. Drawing inspiration from her upbringing on the edge of a rainforest in Costa Rica, Shonee creates virtual worlds where 3D embodiments of organisms reflect the shapes and stories of plants and animals, aiming to foster appreciation for the endangered non-human world amid ecological crisis.

Brandon Powers is a creative director and choreographer specializing in designing experiences in both physical and virtual spaces.

With a background in XR leading fan experience for AR activations at Coachella and Live Nation festivals, Cam now oversees all customer and world-building operations at Wide World. Cam works 1-1 with Wide Worlds clients like Black Mirror, Monad, Humanity Protocol and many others to ensure their worlds are captivating and engaging for their fans, and is looking forward to helping you do the same.

Camille Baker is an artist-performer, researcher, and curator specializing in immersive experiences, participatory performance, and interactive art. Her work explores non-verbal communication and embodiment in real and mixed reality contexts, utilizing XR, haptics, e-textiles, and wearable devices. Camille is a Senior Tutor for the Digital Direction Master's Programme at the Royal College of Art and serves as a Professor of Interactive & Immersive Arts.

Transdisciplinary artist and curator, working in the Art Department of the Universidad de los Andes as an associate professor, she directs the Master’s Degree in Fine, Electronic media and Time Arts.

A user experience designer, educator, and visual artist with expertise in organizational leadership, human-centered design, and a genuine passion for design thinking. Starting as an arts educator, Corbin honed his skills in creating meaningful learning experiences designing visual arts curricula, empathizing with learners, and fostering collaboration among diverse individuals in his home state of North Carolina and then in Brooklyn NY. This drive to understand and assist others encouraged his deeper dive into UX design, earning an MFA in user experience research/strategy and user interface design from the University of Miami. During his time at the University of Miami, he co-led a student UX team acting as a liaison with clients such as the Florida Audubon Society and The Melissa Institute. With experience teaching courses in weblab and design thinking at the University of Miami. Corbin served as the former Interactive Media Director with the Miami Museum of Contemporary Art of the African Diaspora, where he integrated his experiences in planning and executing usability testing, design thinking workshops, and AR workshops in partnership with the Miami Dade public library system. Currently, he is the Manager of Interpretive Media and Gallery Programing at the Pérez Museum of Art where he works with an exceptional team of teaching artists and creative media specialists to create in-gallery experiences from digital exhibition guides to long-form audio conversations.

Starting in 2013, Sinopoli and his team took III Points from imagination to reality in just three
months and secured acclaimed indie names like James Murphy and Jamie xx. From his days as a college student throwing on-campus parties to a heavy hitter in the Miami
entertainment business, Sinopoli continues to evolve as a savvy businessman and creative
curator alike.

Diliana Alexander is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of FilmGate Miami, FilmGate Interactive, and the Downtown Media Center, driving innovation in Florida’s media ecosystem. She has produced content for platforms like Netflix, HBO, and PBS and currently directs 'Stiltsville VR' for Oculus Meta and programs a monthly dome series for the Frost Science Museum.

Dustin Hollywood is a visionary creative leader and innovator in the fields of art, technology, and media

Elizabeth Walker is a brand marketing and publicity expert with significant experience in VR. She held roles in marketing at ILM Immersive, overseeing publishing and brand strategy, and at HTC Vive, where she led B2C marketing for Viveport, including launching its VR subscription service. Elizabeth also contributed to brand marketing at Lucasfilm and managed marketing campaigns at ILMxLAB. Additionally, she has a background in journalism and merchandising, with early experience at Pacific Coast Feather Company and Ernst & Young. Elizabeth earned a Bachelor’s in Business from Washington State University and studied briefly at Universitat de Barcelona.

Eric Jellson is the Area Director of Sales & Marketing for Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants’ properties in
Florida, where he brings more than forty years of experience in the hospitality industry to his role. As
the first employee of Kimpton EPIC Hotel, he also supported the opening of all Kimpton Hotels &
Restaurants in Florida and Grand Cayman. The portfolio of hotels that he oversees today includes
Kimpton EPIC Hotel, Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel, Kimpton Angler’s Hotel, Kimpton Palomar South Beach,
Kimpton Vero Beach Hotel & Spa.

Faith 'Aya' Umoh is a new media artist, data scientist, and the founder of ImmerseMe AI and Creative Aya.

Felipe's projects widen the gamut of the documentary experience; using photography, film, and emerging technologies like Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence.

Born in Bogotá, Felipe is a composer, producer, and the lead for Normal Moodo, a Colombian band created in Mexico in 1998, with production based primarily in electronic music.

François, CEO and co-founder of Digital Rise, is an award-winning producer specializing in immersive storytelling. Since 2018, he has developed multi-format projects blending real and virtual worlds, including a groundbreaking entertainment format for location-based venues in 2023.

Born in Medellín, Tato is a producer and musician, who is considered to be one of the pioneers of electronic music in Colombia and Latin America.

Helen Todd, the first resident in Cincinnati to digitally clone herself, is the founder and host of Creativity Squared, a podcast exploring A.I. and creativity. Helen also co-hosts CincyAI, the largest A.I. meetup in Ohio, and will be speaking on SXSW's Artificial Intelligence track this March on the #ImaginationAge.

Dr. Jan Asmus, CFO and Head of Corporate Development at the MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, has extensive experience in media funding. After completing a doctorate on media identity construction, he transitioned to consulting and funding innovative formats in XR, games, film, and series. Today, he focuses on strategic planning for emerging media formats.

Founded by Emmy award-winning Jason Zada in 2023, Secret Level has become a studio where brands, agencies, celebrities, and music artists work closely to create never-been-done experiences.

Jeanne Marchalot, with over 25 years in TV production and post-production, specializes in narrative storytelling and training in TV writing. She joined France Télévisions in 2018 to build the Chronicles of the Sun VFX studio and now leads France.tv StoryLab, focusing on immersive VR content.

Jennifer Farah joined Knight Foundation in 2022 as director of arts. She is a design innovator whose career has been focused on leading and teaching the development of sustainable, participatory technologies that scale for great impact.

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Joanna Popper is an award-winning media and technology executive with a strong track record in Hollywood and Silicon Valley, known for launching innovative content and products. Most recently, she was Chief Metaverse Officer at Creative Artists Agency, previously serving as Global Head of XR at HP and EVP of Media & Marketing at Singularity University. Joanna now advises media and tech companies on emerging technologies, including AI and spatial computing, and serves on various boards.

John Fitzgerald is an artist and cofounder of the experiential studio, Sensorium. Recent projects of his have premiered at Sundance New Frontier, Tribeca Storyscapes, IDFA DocLab, and SIGGRAPH.

Jordana Leigh is Vice President of Artistic Programming at Lincoln Center, where she has curated over a thousand performances from 100+ nations, developed 11 series, and commissioned 60 artists. She led the opening of the David Rubenstein Atrium and David Geffen Hall and is now guiding Lincoln Center’s exploration into XR Arts. Previously, she consulted for artists and festivals across the US, Europe, and Africa, and co-created the Africa Contemporary Arts Consortium. She has served as a jury member and panelist for music showcases and holds a BA from the New School and an MFA from Brooklyn College.

Karen is a product designer for AR and AI. Karen works at Snap Inc. on Spectacles, leading design for core experiences including My AI, Video Calling and parts of Snap OS.

Katayoun Dibamehr, based in Canada and Paris, is a producer and curator specializing in immersive media. Formerly with Montreal’s FNC EXPLORE, she now works at Floréal Films, producing award-winning projects like The Hangman at Home-VR and Goliath: Playing with Reality.

Kim Picard, of Innu, Kanienkehaka, and Anishinaabe descent from Pessamit, designs high-end Indigenous collections and represented Canada at the 2010 Indigenous Fashion Showcase during the Vancouver Olympics. She co-created the Espace Hubert Reeves in Charlevoix, Quebec, and has performed sacred chants and rituals at events like DOMAGAYA and Fous de dieu. Kim is co-director of the 360° immersive animation project 'Laissez-nous raconter notre lien au territoire, aux rêves et aux astres,' showcased at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

King Willonius is a creative powerhouse redefining the intersection of comedy, music, and technology. His viral AI hit, BBL Drizzy, showcased his trailblazing approach to merging AI and pop culture. He also launched The Young and The Thirsty, the first live audio soap opera on Clubhouse, demonstrating his limitless creativity. Recognized on the TIME 100 list in AI for his groundbreaking innovations, King Willonius is not just ahead of the curve—he’s setting it.

Kirsty is a strategic leader and multidisciplinary producer with a strong record in securing international commissions and partnerships, driving organizational change, and producing award-winning, ambitious works. She is the Managing Director of Anagram, a creative studio that pioneers interactive storytelling and immersive experience design to inspire fresh perspectives. Anagram’s accolades include an Emmy nomination, the 2021 Grand Jury Prize for Best VR Work, and the 2024 Venice Immersive Achievement Prize, alongside previous wins at Tribeca and Venice.

Lauren Monzón is a Miami-based producer and cultural organizer specializing in film, video games, and digital storytelling. Her work, exploring economic science fiction, has screened at Sundance, SXSW, Berlinale, and more. A 2023 Ford Foundation JustFilms Fellow, she manages Digital Engagement at Pérez Art Museum Miami, is a resident at Bakehouse Art Complex, and serves on the board of Third Horizon Film Festival.

Lauren Schroeder is a new media artist and XR developer based in Austin, Texas. Her interactive work has been showcased at events like the Bumbershoot Arts and Music Festival and dadaLab. Recently, she participated in the CATS+ Residency to create a social VR world made entirely of cardboard. Lauren’s projects blend various mediums and technologies, drawing inspiration from magical realism, science, and psychology, to craft immersive experiences that provoke thought and foster meaningful connections.

Leigh Tanner is Head of Global Partnerships at VIVE Arts, an arts initiative that supports artists and cultural institutions to experiment with new technologies.

Leo Castañeda (b. 1988, Colombia) is a multimedia artist and game designer blending Latin American Surrealism with digital media. His episodic games and immersive installations combine painting, video, mixed reality, and sculpture. A Knight Foundation Arts + Technology Fellow, he has exhibited globally, including at Pérez Art Museum Miami, Bronx Museum, and Museu do Amanhã. Featured in outlets like PBS and Vice, he is currently a resident at Miami's Bakehouse Arts Complex.

Lilian Hess is an artist and filmmaker based in Berlin and London, with a BA in Modern Literature and an MFA in Screen Documentary from Goldsmiths University. Her work spans film, photography, and immersive formats, focusing on the politics of the body and personal histories. Her feature documentary Observations at 65º South was acquired by Netflix in 2022. She has directed acclaimed XR projects like Cosmos Within Us, Haunted Hotel, and Ekhos, featured at major festivals, including the Venice Film Biennale and BFI Film Festival. Her latest installation, Duchampiana, premiered at the 81st Venice Film Festival and will exhibit in Prague, London, Brussels, and Miami in autumn 2024.

Lindsay is an award-winning game designer, developer, author, and professor, currently the Knight Chair and Director of the MFA in Interactive Media at the University of Miami. He is also Vice President of the Higher Education Video Game Alliance and a 2019 Games for Change Vanguard Award recipient. Lindsay has curated major events like the Smithsonian SAAM Arcade and Games for Change Festival, authored over 100 publications, and consults for organizations using playful media for real-world solutions.

Maf’j Alvarez is a UK-based visual artist, UX designer, and creative technologist from Brighton.

Margot is a Swiss-American curator based in the United Kingdom. She is the Head of Curatorial at Superblue, a groundbreaking enterprise dedicated to producing, presenting, and engaging the public with experiential art.

"Maria Todaro" is the General Director of the "Florida Grand Opera", bringing 30 years of international experience as an arts administrator, entrepreneur, stage director, conductor, librettist, and operatic mezzo-soprano.

Mohammed Bouabdallah, 45, is seasoned diplomat who has held significant leadership roles advocating for French culture on the global stage. Prior to his appointment as Cultural Conselor of France and Director of Villa Albertine, he served as Cultural Conselor of France in Cairo and Director of the French Institute in Egypt (2016-2019), and Head of the Political Affairs Department at the United Nations Directorate of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in charge of the Security Council (2019-2023).

Monica Monique is a highly accomplished Executive Producer known for her groundbreaking work across various mediums and genres.

Mélanie O’Bomsawin uses video in all its forms. Born to one W8banaki parent and another one quebecois, she uses her installations, her documentaries and her projections to explore her connexion to the ones who were here before her and the ones who will come after.

Nancy Baker Cahill is a transdisciplinary artist and filmmaker exploring systemic power, consciousness, and the human body through hybrid, research-based projects in AR, immersive media, and drawing. Founder of 4th Wall, an AR public art platform, she creates works addressing equity and civic engagement. Her acclaimed AR installations have been exhibited globally, and her groundbreaking film SEEK premiered at Cosm Los Angeles in 2024. A recipient of numerous awards, including the LACMA Art and Tech Grant and Harvard metaLAB affiliation, her work is held in major collections such as the Whitney Museum of American Art and LACMA.

Neil Carty is Head of Cosm Studios & Labs at Cosm, an experiential media and immersive tech company reshaping global content experiences. He oversees Cosm’s in-house fulldome production and storytelling lab, guiding original programming across the company's venues and 700+ planetarium partners worldwide.

Niki Smit is an interactive artist creating playful experiences at the intersection of art, science and education. As co-director of Monobanda he has directed several award winning experiences including Explore Deep, Remembering, In My Absence and The Shape of Us. In 2020 he was awarded the Dutch Directors Guild award for Best Digital Storytelling.

Nonny de la Peña, the "Godmother of Virtual Reality," is a journalist and VR pioneer. Founder of Emblematic Group, she creates immersive VR experiences highlighting social and humanitarian issues, blending storytelling and technology to evoke empathy.

Nyla Innuksuk, a filmmaker and Mixtape VR owner, co-created Marvel's Snowguard and directed Slash/Back, premiering at SXSW 2022. Her short Trapped debuted at the Venice Biennale, and she's developing her next feature, In The Heart of the South.

Paul Mourey is an expert in communication and digital strategy. After more than a decade advising both French and international top-tier brands, institutions, and start-ups on their innovation and communication strategies (including ELLE, Thalys, Orange, Yuka, Caisse des Dépôts, the Agence Française de Développement, and France Télévisions), he has been leading the digital strategy for the Centre Pompidou in Paris since 2018.

Pietro Dossena (Ph.D.) is an internationally active composer and multimedia artist, particularly interested in the exploration of inter-art relationships from a poetic and semiotical standpoint.

Reverend Houston R. Cypress (He / They) is a Two-Spirit poet, artist & activist, from the Otter Clan of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.

As a multi-faceted composer and electronic artist, Ricardo Romaneiro seeks to synthesize his interest in electronic music with his background in classical composition.

Rodrigo Terra is an old-school transmedia evangelist who still maintains the systemic logic of developing storytelling projects with advanced immersion technologies for interactive content.

Rose Bond is an innovative artist who merges cinema and architecture through multi-channel animated installations that illuminate urban spaces with often-overlooked stories. With a background in frame-by-frame, hand-drawn animation, she focuses on creating media experiences beyond the traditional movie theater. Her current work-in-progress, a collaboration with composer inti figgis-vizueta and Roomful of Teeth, explores the intersection of animated projection and live performance in new spatial and audio dimensions.

Sadah Espii Proctor is a multimedia director and composer/sound artist for live and immersive experiences. She is the Director of Immersive Media at South Florida PBS.

Salomé Chatriot (b. 1995, Paris) creates procedural performances and multimedia works exploring the intersection of art, technology, and biodata.

Sam Hyken has had a rich and diverse musical career, which has spanned the globe. Currently residing in Miami, Florida, he is in constant demand as a performer, producer, arranger, and composer. Along with Jacomo Bairos, he is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Nu Deco Ensemble, Miami's Genre-Bending Orchestra. He also serves as C.E.O of the organization.

Sam Schoonover is a cofounder of Wide Worlds, cofounder of Forward Studio, and Innovation Lead for Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. At Wide Worlds, he and his team empower brands to create IP with their audiences. At Forward, he and his team work at the intersection of entertainment and new technologies to help clients scale online. At Coachella, they produce and manage the festival's technology partnerships and strategy.

Sarah Silverblatt-Buser is a dancer, director, choreographer, educator, and writer from New Mexico. She is currently directing the VR experience "Collective Body," produced by Atlas V and commissioned by Lincoln Center. Recently, she choreographed an interdisciplinary concert blending Steve Reich's music with French parkour and created a motion capture performance for an AR experience at the Musée d’Orsay. Previously, she held positions at cultural institutions like the Aspen Institute and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. A member of Onassis ONX, Sarah is based in Paris.

Sarah Ticho is a multi-award-winning artist, entrepreneur, and change-maker focused on health, wellbeing, and embodied storytelling through immersive technologies. She creates transformative experiences that enhance self-awareness and compassion. As the director of the XR experience "Soul Paint," narrated by Rosario Dawson, Sarah has received multiple accolades, including the Unity for Humanity Award and the SXSW Special Jury Prize in 2024.

Savannah Niles is a multi-disciplinary product and design leader with 9 years in XR. She's currently at Meta, where she leads design for the Quest Core OS. previously, she served as Director of Interaction Design and Product Experience at Magic Leap, where she designed and shipped diverse AR products and holds 20+ patents. An MIT Media Lab graduate, Savannah has crafted interactive experiences for Walt Disney Imagineering and Twitter and has been a SIGGRAPH juror for five years.

Shantelle Rodriguez, born and raised in Miami, has dedicated over a decade to enhancing the arts sector through her visionary approach to public art and experiential installations.

Silvia Karman Cubiñá is the executive director and chief curator of The Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach where she has organized more than 30 major exhibitions.

Sönke Kirchhof is CEO and executive producer of award-winning VR Full Service Studio INVR.SPACE GmbH.

As son of a magician Steye likes to create magic with the newest media and technology. He specialises in making the audience play the main part in his stories and experiences. Like for example with his latest project: The Smartphone Orchestra.

Sylvana Levy is a passionate hotelier, events producer, experiential marketing professional, blockchain solutions enthusiast, creative sustainability and wellness programmer, certified integrative health coach, media innovator and a social impact driver. Experiential programming is at the core of everything she does.

T.J. Black is the Associate Director of Institutional Giving at The Bass Museum of Art in
Miami Beach. He rejoined the museum in 2024, having previously served as Operations
Manager and Assistant to the Director from 2014-2018.

Tara is a singer, sound, and visual artist who likes to look at ecosystems and their transcendence through different forms- including human experience, communication, and interaction in regard to personal and immediate environments.

Ulrich Schrauth is the initiator as well as artistic director of the VRHAM! Virtual Reality & Arts Festival in Hamburg and supervises various international projects within the field of immersive media as creative director. In addition to that, he is Immersive Programme Lead for the British Film Institute (BFI) and the London Film Festival.

Vincent Florant is a seasoned marketing executive and the current Director of Film, TV, and Digital at Villa Albertine / French Embassy in the U.S.

William J. Osceola taught language, culture, and digital arts at the Miccosukee Indian School before he was elected Secretary of the Miccosukee Business Council in 2021. In his early thirties, he is the Council’s youngest member, balancing tradition and modernity with a creative flair. “Buffalo Tiger was very young when he first became Chairman. I am continuing a legacy that started before I was here,” he expressed confidently, knowing that the future of the Tribe lies in educating the young and following in his ancestors’ footsteps.

Elodie Pollet has over ten years of film production experience, starting in animation at Mikros Image in Montreal. In 2018, she co-founded Extérieur Jour, focusing on auteur cinema and producing impactful documentaries and narrative films like ADONIS and OSKAR. Elodie is committed to exploring new formats such as 360° immersive films and VR.