By Vanessa Haim

A colorful fusion of events, technology, film, and a community of creatives fueled the third annual FilmGate Interactive Conference. The Conference truly lives up their name by inviting participants to embrace the art of storytelling, leave their comfort zones for a while, and completely immerse themselves in interactive experiences including three-dimensional musical performances and NOLA’s ‘Best Of’ awards (amusingly selected with the hurling of stuffed animals), to name a couple. Let’s dive-in deeper…

It began at Miami Light Project, where FilmGate’s launch party set the tone for the week’s agenda with an opening by Octavio Campos. For the opening performance, Campos transported us to his native Cuba, figuratively speaking, offering the audience a taste of with some cafecito and teaching us how to properly salsa dance. Then, followed an intimate dance performance by the lovely ladies of Alma Dance Theater, who kept us entranced by their every movement of choreographed song “Ink”. Hiro Sake kept the libations flowing and the party going until non-other than Miami’s very own bass alien, Otto Von Schirach, hit the stage. Guided by his trusty sidekick Master Feathers, Otto warped us at light speed into a realm of ninja alligators and psychedelic beats, before crash landing into Triangle Earth.

Indie Film Club’s monthly, I’m Not Gonna Move to LA (NOLA) at O’Cinema, culminated with the crowning of the Best Of finalist with the coveted Pink Kraken Award. This year’s winner was Juan Orta for Wireless, a thrilling film in which a man’s sanity is challenged after he is constantly woken up by a phone ring in the middle of the night. The evening ended with a performance by indie band, Free Pizza, which was brilliantly paired with free pizza from Wynwood’s own Cafe Babbo.  Later, in the week, FilmGate gave us a glimpse into the future of technology, starting with  a screening of  FutureStates, transporting us to 2030 where robots with feelings are now part of society. There were also a few other performances and screenings sprinkled throughout the week at Miami LightBox including, MelanchoLalaland and Pioneer Winter’s A Proper Marriage.

FilmGate’s weekend activities took us to Miami Beach for the Tech Playground where we got to test ride new digital media including cameras and flying drones (see: Fordistas takes FilmGate to the Tech Playground). There, we caught local 1-Click 3D Print in action and some words by guest speakers. Next stop – The Gale Hotel for {The And} Game, an interactive documentary experience with beats provided by Sweat Record‘s Lauren Reskin. Then, at the Miami Beach Cinematheque, the screening of feature documentary Robert Raven Kraft: Unstoppable, where the audience was invited to join Raven on his famous 8-mile run on the beach (no, I did not run 8-miles!). There was more to FilmGate than I could cover, including the interactive dance exhibition, Jacqueries, “a political heist story told through movement — an inside-out experience of conspiracy, security theater and solidarity, inspired by Parkour’s co-opting of urban space,” and exhibit, The Invisible Season, which projected scenes from Fukushima onto multiple screens made of translucent mesh and weekend closing screening of Deep City: The Birth of Miami Sound, which chronicles the history of Miami’s own music legend and founders of Deep City Records. With all of that and more, FilmGate truly set the pace for transmedia storytelling. Thanks for keeping us inspired, looking forward to next year!