Los Angeles – September 16, 2026 -- Two immersive media projects supported by Agog: The Immersive Media Institute captured two of the three prizes awarded in the Venice Immersive competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. Out of the Ashes, co-directed by Rory Mitchell and Nonny de la Peña, received the Venice Immersive Special Jury Prize, while Empire at Sea, created and directed by Peter Flaherty, earned the Venice Immersive Achievement Prize.
Out of the Ashes documents the January 2025 Los Angeles fires through volumetric reconstruction
The 26-minute virtual-reality documentary, narrated by Courtney B. Vance, places audiences inside the events and aftermath of the wildfires using volumetric reconstructions of participants' homes built partly from family photos and videos. It was co-produced by The Mercantile Agency, Emblematic Group and Arizona State University's MA in Narrative and Emerging Media program, with support from Agog and the MacArthur Foundation. The film highlights recovery organizations My Tribe Rise, Evolve Altadena, and the Palisades Recovery Coalition.
Empire at Sea stages a 22-minute augmented-reality drama for up to 10 simultaneous viewers
The interactive AR work follows climate scientists building a sustainable community on a remote oil rig after a catastrophe severs mainland contact. Audiences navigate cinematic holograms around a custom LED table, developed with Flaherty Pictures, 4DV.ai and NightLight Labs, and commissioned by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and ASU Gammage. It is scheduled for presentation at Lincoln Center in January 2027.
Agog backed three of the festival's competition selections, including a Solomon Islands documentary
The third Agog-supported project, Solwata, a mixed-reality documentary on rising seas and displacement in the Solomon Islands, was created by NowHere Media, co-produced with Human Rights Watch and Agog, and narrated by Mark Ruffalo. Following its Venice premiere, Solwata is showing at the Toronto International Film Festival's Innovation Hub through Sept. 16, with further stops planned at the BFI London Film Festival and COP31.
Agog marked Venice Immersive's 10th anniversary with ecosystem-building programming
Beyond project funding, Agog convened creators, nonprofit leaders, funders and technologists throughout the festival, including a Smart Glasses Petting Zoo and an imagination workshop exploring new applications for immersive storytelling in social impact work.