Infinity Festival Hollywood is a multi-day event held each November in Los Angeles. The event, which brings together creative talent from Hollywood and Silicon Valley, celebrates “Story Enabled By Technology” through curated exhibitions, panels, screenings and events. The festival is supported by several Hollywood studios and leading tech companies. IF is held at nya (formerly Goya) studios and the Aster, with screenings and special events taking place at various locations in Los Angeles. IF Venues have included UTA, The Griffith Observatory, LightHouse ArtSpace, Capitol Records, Dolby Screening Room, Google Spruce Goose, Sony Studios and other iconic venues.
IF History
Infinity Festival began in 2018 as Infinity Film Festival. The event was held in Beverly Hills, from November 1–4, 2018. The former Paley Center, at 465 North Beverly Drive, served as the festival hub, with screenings and special events held in various theaters and other locations in Beverly Hills, including the Writer’s Guild Theater. The festival included over 200 speakers and over 100 screenings including studio premieres, a Tech Lab, a Student Lab, 2 floors of exhibitions, industry networking and a fine art gallery. Festival themes included 3D, 4K, Immersive, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. This was also the debut of the Infinity Festival Monolith Awards, which are awarded in various categories recognizing achievements in entertainment and technology.
The festival expanded in 2019 and moved to Hollywood. Re-titled Infinity Festival Hollywood, the event took place at Goya Studios, the Dream Hotel and various theaters around Hollywood, from November 7–9, 2019. The event featured a Main Stage, an Exhibition Hall, a Student Lab, an Innovation Hub and ART+TECH, a fine art gallery. The festival continued its theme of “story enabled by technology” through themes that included 5G, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Immersive Technology and Wellness. Screenings were held at the Dolby Vine Theater and included original films from Disney, Netflix, Pixar and Sony. Exclusive screenings included a CLED screening of “Spider-Man: Far From Home” and “Gemini Man” in 120 FPS 3D.
For 2020 the festival was held entirely online with an all-virtual event that was held over eight weeks. The Festival began on October 28, 2020, and ran through January 7, 2021. Each week’s programming was devoted entirely to one of eight themes: Remote Collaboration, Artificial Intelligence, 3D/Visual effects, Virtual Production, Immersive Experiences, Real Time Storytelling, Entertainment Content, and Wellness Tech.
Infinity Festival Hollywood continued in 2021 with a hybrid in-person and online event. The Festival was held at Goya Studios and the Dream Hotel from November 2–4, 2021. The event featured all new programming focused on current trends including the Metaverse, AI, XR, OTT, Film, Television, Audio, Animation, Music, 5G, Art and Gaming.
Infinity Festival Hollywood continued for its fifth year with a live event that took place on November 2-5, 2022 at Goya Studios and the Dream Hotel. Tracks and themes for the show included a focus on Virtual Production and Web3 technologies for media and entertainment. The main stage featured an overview of these trends with Hollywood executives and talent sharing their insights. Howie Mandel joined the show for a second year demonstrating Proto, a holoportation solution. The festival’s Chief Curator, Lori H. Schwartz, lead a conversation with Oscar, BAFTA, and Grammy Award winning composer A.R. Rahman and Intel’s Ravi Velhal on the impact technology had on the storytelling for Rahman’s VR directorial debut, “Le Musk.” Featured guests at the festival also included actor/environmentalist/entrepreneur Ian Somerhalder on the Metaverse, actor Jeff Bridges launching an NFT, actor Jon Heder talking about his partnership with Verified Labs to launch his “The Order of the Tigons” NFT collection, and director Elijah Allan-Blitz discussing his groundbreaking AR short film “Remembering” on Disney+ starring Brie Larson.
A new event for 2022 was a Virtual Production Workshop, conducted for a full day, which featured sessions on the virtual art department, on-set operations, and shooting and directing, all with a focus on the pipeline. Other highlights included a Web3 case study summit, a track dedicated to creatives, and panels featuring various celebrities whose connection to technology elevated their experiences. Also new in 2022 was the So. Cal Women’s Summit, sponsored by MESA and Women in Technology Hollywood.
Special events for 2022 included a VIP opening night party on the rooftop of the Aster, a special screening of the film “Signs of Life” at the Griffith Observatory. The festival also featured the US debut of A.R. Rahman’s “Le Musk”, the first feature-length VR cinematic sensory experience.
The Festival is currently in pre-production for our 7th year, which will be held at nya studios, the Aster and other Hollywood locations on November 6th through 9th, 2024. IF has been able to grow at a consistent pace by offering cutting-edge content and staying ahead of the curve. We have been the first to curate panels and exhibitons devoted to XR, VR, AR, AI, Metaverse, Web3 and Virtual Production in the marketplace. Tech Leaders from every major studio and media company participate and attend the festival. We also are on the forefront of screening Academy Award contenders and winners. Our media sponsors have ranged from The Wall Street Journal to OUTFRONT Media to all local LA media outlets as well as global entertainment, tech and industry media. Celebrity and industry leaders participants have included Brie Larson, Jeff Bridges, Van Jones, Howie Mandel, A.R. Rahman, and many more.
Infinity festival expanded to include two new events in 2023, Infinity Festival Silicon Beach, and Infinity Festival Live at the Aster.
INFINITY FESTIVAL SILICON BEACH
Infinity Festival Silicon Beach, hosted on May 18-19, 2023, at the Google Spruce Goose in Playa Vista, CA, signified the expansion of Infinity Festival into a year-round brand. This invitation-only event focused on tech-enabled production, particularly emphasizing workflows and the utilization of Cloud technology.
The event featured distinct programming tracks, including Content & Virtual Production and The Journey to the Cloud. Discussions and presentations revolved around the intricacies of transitioning production workflows to the Cloud, with a specific focus on workstation integration.
Attendees included C-Suite executives and high-profile members from the realms of technology and entertainment. The two-day event concluded with the presentation of the Infinity Festival Monolith Technology Awards. These awards recognized individuals whose innovative contributions have played a pivotal role in advancing storytelling through the development of cutting-edge technological tools.
Monolith Award winners included “Remembering” (The Walt Disney Studios StudioLAB), DreamWorks for their MoonRay Renderer, Felix and Paul Studios for 360 Camera in Open Space, and Intel was given an award for 8K Live Streaming Pioneer. Other winners included Pixar, Qualcomm, and USC Institute for Creative Technologies.
INFINITY FESTIVAL LIVE AT THE ASTER
Infinity Festival Live at The Aster is a curated series of events dedicated to showcasing the latest advancements in entertainment technology and education. Hosted at The Aster, this invitation-only gathering provides an in-depth exploration of the intricacies involved in creating diverse forms of entertainment content.
The inaugural event offered an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the film “Avatar: The Way of Water.” Tom Grane, a noted documentarian, delved into the technological challenges and breakthroughs that shaped the production. The discussion provided valuable insights into the impact of these innovations on cinema production techniques.
The following segment of Live at The Aster featured a special screening of the film “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” The event was followed by an insightful behind-the-scenes discussion with filmmakers Bret St. Clair and Pav Grochola, offering attendees a unique perspective on the creative process behind this cinematic experience.
In 2024, the Infinity Festival Innovator Education Series, an intimate discussion with industry thought-leaders, began with monthly programming. Targeting the student community, the series kicked off with a discussion with “The Meg” Executive Producer Randy Greenburg, and was hosted by Intel’s Rick Hack. The second installment featured an intimate conversation with Academy Award winning VFX Supervisor Rob Legato and was hosted by Variety’s Carloyn Giardina.
INFINITY FESTIVAL HOLLYWOOD
IF 2023 took place from November 1-4, 2023 with nya Studios serving as the main festival hub. Additional events were hosted at The Aster and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences Linwood Dunn Theater. Z by HP, NVIDIA, and Barco were title sponsors of the 2023 Infinity Festival, which commenced with a lively rooftop party at The Aster.
Festival tracks encompassed Thought Leadership, A.I. Applications & Empowerment, Gaming Modalities, The Age of the Creator, and the SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit. The latter featured panels highlighting the advancement of young women in careers in the technology sector.
Program highlights featured an A.I. Lab, a Virtual Production Workshop, a Student Lab, an interview series with The Hollywood Reporter tech editor Carolyn Giardina, Behind-The-Scenes glimpses of blockbuster films including “Avatar: The Way of Water”, and the Infinity Festival Monolith Creative Awards. Panels included “Creating the Spider-Verse” with Academy Award-winning filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, along with VFX Supervisor Andrew Roberts. IF 2023 also showcased “The Cinematic Magic of Barbie,” offering an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the blockbuster film “Barbie,” discussing the technology used and featuring exclusive set footage.
The digital production company Barco unveiled Lightsteering, a revolutionary HDR projection system, with special screenings at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Linwood Dunn Theater. Presentations included a tech demo of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” using Lightsteering HDR projection, followed by a full-length screening of “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.”
The festival concluded with the Infinity Festival Monolith Creative Awards ceremony, recognizing outstanding storytelling advanced by technology. Winners of the Monolith Creative Awards included: “Remembering” (Disney Studio Lab) for Outstanding Narrative MXR (hybrid) Experience, “In Search of Time” for Outstanding Use of A.I. Storytelling, “Gorillaz Presents” (Nexus Studios) for Outstanding Marketing for Tech-Based Entertainment and Refik Anadol’s Living Paintings won for Outstanding New Media Fine Art. In the video game category, God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment) tied for Outstanding Narrative Video Game World along with “Baldur’s Gate 3” from Larian Studios. HBO Entertainment’s “Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon” won Outstanding Virtual Production Scene for “Creating the Dragonstone Bridge”, and A.R. Rahman and Intel’s Ravindra Velhal were awarded Outstanding Cinematic Immersive Experience for “Le Musk.”
Phil Lord and Chris Miller along with Sony Imageworks received the Quantum Breakthrough Award for “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”, and “Avatar: The Way of Water” (James Cameron, Jon Landau, Ryan Champney, and Vaughn Cato), was honored with the Georges Méliès Pioneering Filmmaker Award. Tom Grane and Mob Scene, were given the Monolith Plus Award for the related making-of documentary “Opening Pandora’s Box.”
We are currently planning our 7th season! Please check in and sign up for our newsletter for IF 2024 updates.
Guests
Our past guests include Academy Award winners, Writers, Artists, Celebrities and Technologists, all innovators in each of their fields.
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