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For over a century, theatres have offered the most immersive way of watching films within big screens and surrounding sounds. Featuring sharing tension, laughter and emotions, the theatres are what help the story breathe from the screen. However, especially after the pandemic, theatres have been in constant threat because of the growth of streaming platforms.

Artificial intelligence is taking over, and we’re sure you have lots of questions, because so do we, but Miami’s FilmGate Interactive Festival is going down this week, and it has all the answers. Deco’s artificial and intelligent reporter, Alex Miranda, has more.

FilmGate is a cutting-edge event that brings the tech-savvy and the curious to explore the best in interactive storytelling.

Lights, cameras, imagination!

MIAMI — Nonprofit organization FilmGate is helping to support independent media creators in the area.

Their festival, FilmGate Interactive, is back for its 12th edition, kicking off at the Frost Museum of Science in Miami, showcasing how new technology influences the future.

The latest technological advancement on everyone’s minds (and fingertips) is Artificial Intelligence (AI). Across five days of programming, FilmGate Interactive returns in its 12th year with the spotlight on AI along with a lineup of art, music, and, or course, film.

A new prize from Villa Albertine recognizes immersive works outstanding in their narrative prowess and artistic vision.

Miami, March 26, 2026 – The FilmGate Interactive Media Festival, known for showcasing works that represent the potential inherent in digital creation, was the setting for a new award: the Villa Albertine Immersive Storytelling Prize. French artist and musician Philippe Cohen Solal was its first recipient.

The #Filmgate podcast episode with Diliana Alexander explores how technology—especially artificial intelligence—is reshaping filmmaking and storytelling. Alexander, the co-founder and executive director of FilmGate Miami, discusses how creators can use emerging tools like AI, VR, and immersive media to expand the boundaries of film and reach new audiences.

FilmGate Miami announces the return of FilmGate Interactive 12, running March 18 through March 22, 2026, transforming Downtown Miami and Miami Beach into a living, breathing ecosystem of immersive art, creative AI, experimental performance, and next generation storytelling.

FilmGate Interactive 12 is an Interactive Media Festival exploring how emerging technology empowers the content of the future. The festival redefines how we conceive and share our stories - together, democratically, and inclusively - representing the diverse voices of our extended region. During Miami Music Week, from March 18 to 22, 2026, the festival will celebrate visual storytellers and supporting industries through screenings, exhibits, creative labs, master classes, immersive art installations, live performances, and music events across Miami.

When musician Adrian Garcia was listening to “Song of the Lake” by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, he couldn’t have predicted how it would change his career.

With the snap decision to record a cover of the tune and film a music video, Garcia realized art can be created on a whim.

“It was just like a spark,” said Garcia. “I opened my eyes the next day, and suddenly all these things were just naturally put in motion.”

Mr. Pauer is the stage name of Toto González, a pioneer of Latin Electronica known for fusing traditional Latinx rhythms with cutting-edge electronic beats. A Latin Grammy nominee for “Best Alternative Album,” he has collaborated with global artists such as Diplo, Chucky73, Daddy Yankee, RedOne, French Montana, Amigos Invisibles, and many more.

Shania Twain, FilmGate, Wicked, and more can't-miss events in Miami this week.

Smack-dab in the midst of Miami Art Week, FilmGate Miami's five-day interactive festival, FilmGate Interactive, goes all in, tackling the latest in emerging multimedia storytelling. Festivalgoers discover a dizzying array of virtual and augmented reality experiences.

Explore the creative frontier where art meets artificial intelligence, an evening showcasing innovative visual storytelling inside the Frost Planetarium.

The program features immersive dome experiences, networking, and cutting-edge tech demonstrations that reveal how artists and AI tools are shaping the future of creativity.

From “Miami Vice” and “Dexter” to the telenovelas of Telemundo, Miami has been serving as the entertainment industry’s tropical playground for decades. With its neon-lit beachy backdrop, vibrant Little Havana stages, and year-round filming weather, the south Florida city has a lot to offer aspiring actors. If you’re wondering how to become an actor in Miami, consider this your step-by-step guide to breaking into the colorful and ever-evolving market.

Beam us up Miami! Sci-fi and live art are colliding inside a wild dome experience. FilmGate Miami and the Frost Museum of Science are stepping into the future with a trip beyond the stars. They’re boldly going where no stage has gone before – and it starts with a spaceship.

I had the chance to attend an exciting event last night, April 14, 2025, hosted by FilmGate Miami at their impressive downtown location. The event was part of their monthly Machine Learning Monday series, and this time, the focus was on the fascinating world of AI in images and sound. As someone who loves exploring how technology intersects with creativity, I was eager to see what the speakers had to share.

El talento de Francisco Piñero como creador digital, publicista y diseñador, se pierde de vista, y la más reciente muestra de ello es que “Mozart a La Cubana”, video tributo dirigido en conjunto con Stefano Bertelli, bajo el ala de InnerCat Films, acaba de ganar el premio al Mejor Video elegido por la audiencia en el “FilmGate Music Video Festival” de 2024, en Miami, un reconocimiento que resalta tanto la innovadora técnica visual como el poderoso mensaje de libertad y esperanza que transmite.

Miami film incubator and overall awesome organization FilmGate Miami recently held its first monthly film festival of the year. It was a ‘Free-For-All’ meaning films from all genres were eligible. The sold-out event took place on January 29, 2025, and featured ten short films. There were music videos, comedies, documentaries and more. One film stood out to us at The Jitney: Silence in the Dark. It is a short slasher film set somewhere in South Miami. It is beautifully scored and legitimately tense and well shot. Take a quick look at the trailer and read below for an exclusive interview with Writer and Director Steven Salgado.

On December 7, join Villa Albertine and FilmGate Interactive Media Festival in Miami for an evening celebrating immersive experiences with live music and performance art with French and American art leaders, artist talks, and the reveal of Villa Albertine’s French Immersion grant winners.

I couldn’t be more excited to share with you an exclusive interview from the ONLY comedian (and one of two artists!) who’s a Time100 AI honoree in the Innovators category: King Willonius.

His real name is Willonius Hatcher (his first name is pronounced “Will-OWN-ee-us,” and he also goes by Will).

After getting SO CLOSE, so many times to having a breakout as a comedian, filmmaker, and screenplay writer, he finally went big this year — so big, he made the Time100 AI list!

He gets credit for helping diffuse the infamous Drake and Kendrick beef with his comedy song that unexpectedly went viral, “BBL Drizzy” — the first song made in collaboration with A.I. that became a cultural phenomenon, transcending genres and mediums!

Today’s artists are navigating a landscape where digital technology blends the physical and virtual worlds, offering new ways to create, communicate, and collaborate. While technology can sometimes seem daunting, designed by a few for the many, artists now have unprecedented access and agency to harness these tools. By skillfully integrating digital technologies, creators can deepen experiences, reach new audiences, and design a collective future that reflects and connects communities in profound ways.

Knight New Work celebrates this intersection of artistic creation and technological innovation, encouraging new modes of production, expression, and communication. Since 2020, the program has fostered projects that leverage digital tools to expand artistic possibilities, engage broader audiences, and strengthen community bonds. Through Knight New Work, individual artists, collectives, and arts organizations are invited to explore how technology can enhance their practice and impact, with the only requirement being that proposed works premiere in, and/or the artist is based in, the resident’s community.

A planetarium experience that reimagines the 1982 film “Koyaanisqatsi,” a work by an artificial intelligence architect and comedian that’s a nod to soul and hip hop musicians, and another that explores the destructive nature of desire. And that’s just the opening night offerings of  FilmGate Interactive Festival XI.

The festival has established itself as a cornerstone of South Florida’s film ecosystem, empowering filmmakers and media artists while helping to elevate the region’s reputation as a dynamic filmmaking destination.

The way the world is going, AI, VR, AR and all the tech acronyms you can think of will take over. So why be against it? It’s good to know about it.

FilmGate Miami is with its Interactive Fest, just in time for Art Week.

Art takes on many forms. At Filmgate’s Interactive Media Fest, creative technology is the future.

King Willonius, artist: “FilmGate does an amazing job curating really dope artists from, you know, that work in AR, VR, different emerging technologies, and then they’re able to showcase their work. One of the premier festivals that actually does that, you know, ’cause a lot of film festivals do traditional media, or traditional films.”

FilmGate Interactive es un festival de medios interactivos que muestra cómo la tecnología emergente da forma al futuro de las narrativas. Durante cinco días en la semana de Art Basel en Miami, celebramos a los narradores visuales con proyecciones, exposiciones, laboratorios creativos, clases magistrales, arte inmersivo, música y eventos en vivo.

A planetarium experience that reimagines the 1982 film “Koyaanisqatsi,” a work by an artificial intelligence architect and comedian that’s a nod to soul and hip hop musicians, and another that explores the destructive nature of desire. And that’s just the opening night offerings of  FilmGate Interactive Festival XI.

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​The festival has established itself as a cornerstone of South Florida’s film ecosystem, empowering filmmakers and media artists while helping to elevate the region’s reputation as a dynamic filmmaking destination.

Immerse yourself in the world of virtual reality film and art at this year's FilmGate XR/VR Interactive Film Festival.

What's happening: The five-day festival, now in its 10th year, boasts over 35 interactive projects, several planetarium "dome experiences" and panel discussions from tech industry players.

The FGI XI explores the theme "REWILDING" through immersive technology and generative AI, offering innovative experiences in storytelling, education, and wellbeing.

Highlights include 11 immersive installations, live panels, dome presentations, and North America's inaugural immersive market featuring global creators. Venues include Downtown Miami's Frost Science Museum and Miami Beach's Bass Museum, with events such as networking sessions, Art Basel visits, and a Sunset Cruise.

Este año, el Festival de Medios Interactivos FilmGate (FGIX), en colaboración con la Universidad de Miami, celebra su décimo aniversario con un programa más ambicioso que nunca.

Del 28 de noviembre al 3 de diciembre de 2023, el evento reunirá a creadores, productores, compañías tecnológicas y audiencias de todo el mundo para explorar 35 proyectos innovadores provenientes de Florida y más allá, incluyendo países como Taiwán, Francia, Alemania, Canadá y los Países Bajos.

The conversations and programming at the FilmGate Interactive Media Festival evolve quickly. In fact, you could say that the landscape changes so fast that just as one trend is the hottest topic, another takes its place.

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“FilmGate came out of curiosity,” says Diliana Alexander, executive director of FilmGate Miami, whose FilmGate Interactive Media Festival is in its 10th year and takes place this year at various locations from Wednesday, Nov. 29, through Sunday, Dec. 3.

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It will be no surprise to anyone familiar with what’s happening in the world of immersive technologies that this year’s FilmGate will be at the forefront of the latest conversation point – artificial intelligence or A.I.

FilmGate Interactive Media Festival, in partnership with University of Miami, celebrates its 10th Anniversary  showcasing 35 projects from Florida, and around the world, including Taiwan, France, Germany, Canada and the Netherlands. The films highlight how emerging technology can empower new ways of artistic and media expression.

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FilmGate’s 10th anniversary festival will feature talks, workshops, experiential installations, parties, music, and more, closing with a Sunset Cruise on the bay.

The worlds of film and technology have been firmly intertwined since the dawn of modern cinema. Advancements in technology have consistently propelled the film industry forward, from the introduction of sound and color to the digital revolution in editing and special effects. Conversely, the needs and challenges of filmmaking have often driven technological innovation, creating a symbiotic relationship between the two fields.

FilmGate Interactive Media Festival (FGIX), in partnership with University of Miami, celebrates its 10th Anniversary with its most ambitious program to date, showcasing 35 projects from Florida, and around the world, including Taiwan, France, Germany, Canada and the Netherlands that highlight and showcase howemerging technology can empower new ways of artistic and media expression, along with 10 University of Miami projects.

FilmGate’s 10th anniversary festival will feature talks, workshops, experiential installations, parties, music, and more, closing with our Sunset Cruise on the bay.
Theme for this year’s festival is REGENERATE X.

The rise of immersive reality technologies in Florida comes from pioneers like FilmGate Miami. Its festival, FilmGate Interactive, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, from November 29 to December 3.

Interview with Diliana Alexander, Executive Director of FilmGate Miami.
Diliana Alexander is the Executive Director of FilmGate Miami, an organization which empowers Florida’s visual storytellers and delivers a range of multidisciplinary programs in film, digital media, interactive and immersive content, virtual and augmented reality. She is especially interested in the convergence of art, science and technology.

Stop, collaborate and listen. Well, not listen, more like watch at Miami’s FilmGate Film Festival. And there will be collabs.

Florida filmmakers will be showcasing their short films at the Silverspot Cinema on Wednesday.

It’s open to the public and could be your chance to rub elbows with the next Steven Spielberg.

If tech leads to anxiety more often than serenity, the VR Live Mandala Experience may alter your state of mind. But you’ll need to dash to Allapattah Tuesday to partake.

Hands in the controls, VR headset strapped on, you’re ready to climb the Himalayas and enter the Temple of the Tilting Buddha.

Marchak said she was one of about 70 businesses that had to rush out of the decades-old building at 168 Southeast 1st Street in downtown Miami.

An unsafe structures notice was posted on the front door a few days later and a police officer was in the lobby Friday as tenants took out some of their belongings and furniture.

“They made it seem like we were going through what Surfside went through and it will collapse on us,” said tenant Diliana Alexander.

One business owner renting space on the building’s fourth floor was skeptical of the city’s reaction. Diliana Alexander, executive director of nonprofit FilmGate, called the shutdown “draconian.”

She was at the music and film festival South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, on March 16 when her staff called to tell her that a squad of Miami firefighters and police officers hurriedly rushed around their floor telling people they needed to leave.

If tech leads to anxiety more often than serenity, the VR Live Mandala Experience may alter your state of mind. But you’ll need to dash to Allapattah Tuesday to partake. The calming tones of Buddhist temple bells soothe stress even before you enter the ‘temple.’ Inside, players are invited to place their worldly trappings -- yes, including cell phones -- into a box and stand before a Buddhist altar. Hands in the controls, VR headset strapped on, you’re ready to climb the Himalayas and enter the Temple of the Tilting Buddha.

While most people know the story of the Buddha as a spoiled prince who gained enlightenment after fasting and sitting under a Bodhi tree, “Mandala: A Brief Moment in Time” offers a different side to the mythos of Buddhist philosophy, combining traditional Asian imagery and storytelling with innovative technology.

Hosted by FilmGate space in Downtown Miami at their Downtown Media Center, Mandala: A Brief Moment in Time is an immersive theater experience for 3-6 people that uses group discussions to tell different stories from Buddhism around the themes of suffering, happiness, hungry ghosts, & living the good life. There’s a moral dilemma at the end of the experience that requires the participants to come to some level of consensus. Consequently, there are a number of different endings based on what the group decides.

The 2022 Festival is taking place in person and virtually in Miami and Miami Beach, and is designed to highlight and showcase how emerging tech empowers new ways of artistic and media expression. Over the course of four days, between Nov. 28 and Dec 5, creators, producers, tech companies and curious audiences will have access to over 30 interactive experiences, 15 labs and talks, interactive exhibits, four dome experiences, a financing market, b2b meetings, music, and live events, accessible to all ages.

“The technology component of Art Basel has made it more vibrant and more interesting, and it also kind of spilled it on the street,” said Diliana Alexander, a film producer and executive director of FilmGate, a nonprofit that hosts its own technologically advanced storytelling festival during Art Week. “It’s more democratic, and it’s attracting a younger audience.”

The line between fine art and technology is increasingly blurry. And Miami art institutions – Oolite Arts being the most recent example – are doubling down on arming creatives with the tech tools they need to create 21st century art.

Another prominent example of this phenomenon was the 9th FilmGate Interactive Media Festival. Taking place across four venues in Downtown and South Beach, the expo explored the intersection of film and technology.

Taking place December 2 through 5, FilmGate returns to Downtown Miami and Miami Beach to showcase immersive visual experiences that push the boundaries of storytelling.

Over the four days, creators, producers, tech companies and curious audiences will have access to over 30 interactive experiences, 15 labs and talks, interactive exhibits, 4 dome experiences, a financing market, b2b meetings, music, live events and a sunset cruise closing ceremony, accessible to all ages.

Locations include The Frost Science Museum, The SouthEast Financial Center, O Cinema South Beach and more.

When filmmaker and self-described sci-fi geek Diliana Alexander discovered that VR could increase audiences’ empathy levels, she and her co-founder were inspired to create a festival that explored where this technology would take the creative world. Thus, FilmGate Interactive was born.

reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR).

FilmGate Miami is debuting 25 virtual reality and interactive art installations this year, including one VR experience that takes you deep sea diving.

FilmGate’s cofounder, Diliana Alexander says these “extended reality” installations provide new opportunities for guests to be a part of the art; not just view it but immerse themselves in it.

“These are projects that would have probably not existed two years ago or even last year because technology is changing, and artists are pushing boundaries,” said Alexander. “The audience, because they’re present and interacting or being engaged in some of kind way, they’re a lot more invested in what they’re experiencing.”