The competition section “Immersive: All Around Cinema” embraces creations that make use of high-end technologies to present different views of extended reality. The Immersive competition section of the 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival showcases new films that offer an exciting interactive viewing experience, transcending film genres and immersing the viewer in each artwork’s unique environment. The Golden Alexander awarded to the best film of the section is accompanied by a monetary award of 2,000 euros. The members of the Immersive Jury of the 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival are: Arkaitz Basterra, producer, screenwriter, director, and Investor’s Committee Member (Moby Dick Film Capital); Ellen Kuo, Head of XR Market at the NewImages Festival; and Maria Mavropoulou, visual artist.
As a director and screenwriter, Arkaitz Basterra completed films that premiered at San Sebastian IFF and Montreal World FF and is currently developing two documentary series. Arkaitz is also a specialized film consultant, advising international producers on script and film development, international funding, international sales and marketing strategies. He is, at the same time, a creative producer for Garachico Film Service and adviser of Moby Dick Film Capital, a venture capital fund that invests in international films of international potential and for global audiences.
Ellen Kuo is the Head of the XR Market at the NewImages Festival in Paris, a leading European festival dedicated to immersive experiences. She oversees the XR Development Market and XR Distribution Market which serve as platforms for co-production, co-financing, and distribution of immersive projects. Ellen works closely with industry professionals to facilitate collaboration and innovation in the XR field. Her role involves engaging a diverse international audience, with over half of the participants coming from outside Europe. This international focus has helped establish NewImages as a significant event in the global XR scene.
Maria Mavropoulou was born in 1989 and lives and works in Athens, Greece. She is a visual artist using photography while her work expands to new forms of images, such as VR and screen-captured images and AI-generated images. Her research focus on the contradictions between the physical and the virtual spaces that we inhabit, addressing issues of technological mediation. Her work explores digital identity and representation in the post-social media era, algorithmic bias, network culture, power politics between machines and humans, and the multidimensionality of our experiences in our always-online world.
