The University of Miami recently hosted the 10th FilmGate Interactive Media Festival, transforming the Coral Gables Campus into a hub for emerging technologies and narrative creation. Coinciding with Art Basel week in Miami, this vibrant event, titled “Regenerate X”, showcased the dynamic interplay between technology and storytelling. 
Partnering with the University’s Frost Institute for Data Science and Computing (IDSC), FilmGate Interactive aimed to attract a global audience of researchers, scientists, creative technologists, educators, and industry leaders in the field of extended reality (XR), encompassing virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality.
Embracing Digital Worlds in Storytelling and Beyond
Diliana Alexander, executive director and co-founder of FilmGate, expressed the festival’s ambition to immerse audiences in entirely new digital worlds or those augmented by almost magical layers. The festival highlighted over 30 new interactive media projects, including 10 XR experiences created by University faculty. Over a dozen faculty members from various disciplines participated in panels, discussing their use of immersive reality experiences in research and education.
UM: Pioneering Immersive Technology
Tom Merrick, assistant director of XR initiatives at UM underscored the University’s effort to drive the utilization of immersive technology across all schools and colleges.
Kim Grinfeder, chair and professor of Interactive Media at the School of Communication, and director of Creative Technologies at IDSC, said the festival provided a platform for showcasing these advancements and educating faculty about the potential of XR technologies.
Faculty from the School of Communication, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Nursing and Health Studies, and other departments participated, contributing their expertise and a variety of projects.
Exploring Diverse Applications of XR
Panels at the festival delved into various topics, including virtual reality’s transformation of museum experiences, the role of mixed reality in enhancing research outcomes, the educational benefits of immersive games, XR’s impact on healthcare and the music industry, the influence of films in driving social change, and the future prospects of immersive technologies.
University Showcase of XR Projects
The University community showcased their XR projects at the Lakeside Expo Center, inviting attendees to experience demonstrations firsthand.
These projects included:
- Rescue a Reef VR, part of the Rosenstiel School’s coral restoration program
- Temikki, an AR app for children in hospitals
- Collections Connections, an AR application for museums
- VR Stress Tester, for analyzing stress responses
- Answer Campus, a role-playing game for college students
- VRTGO, for manipulating song elements in VR
- TCRB (Transformational Cancer Research Building), a VR exploration of the future of cancer research
- Exposure Therapy, for understanding and treating phobias
- Survey of Western Art, an integration of VR into art history classes
- Mangrove City, an immersive experience into mangrove ecology.
A Testament to Collaborative Efforts
This year’s FilmGate Interactive, blending digital and physical worlds, underscored the power of collaboration, innovation, and the pursuit of redefining storytelling through technology. The festival not only showcased emerging media but also served as a catalyst for future partnerships and creative endeavors at the University of Miami.
