Developing Stories for Different Formats

20 Nov 2023

The next BFI Film Academy Lab of the 2023/24 season will be looking to a world beyond traditional cinema and into XR filmmaking

We will be joined by award-winning virtual reality filmmaker Alex Rühl who will be talking about her journey into filmmaking, the challenges and differences in making a film for different platforms and what the current landscape is for aspiring VR and XR filmmakers. We will be talking about her filmmaking processes, the considerations at play when creating films for different formats, and how you bring the audience experience into your storytelling. The session is for aspiring filmmakers who are interested in telling stories in different ways and looking to explore the possibilities of XR and VR filmmaking.

Alex Rühl

Alex Rühl is an award-winning virtual reality creator and Head of Immersive Technologies at PwC. Since starting her VR career in 2015, she’s written, directed and exec produced several original pieces included 360º romcom Keyed Alike (Starring Gemma Whelan, HBO’s Game of Thrones, and Natacha Karam, Fox’s 9-1-1: Lone Star), interactive VR thought experiment Playing God (premiered at Cannes XR 2019) and her most recent piece Rock Paper Scissors which had its world premiere at Venice Film Festival in 2022 (first VR piece funded by BFI Network). A notable figure in the XR industry, she has received industry recognition for her work in immersive storytelling (The Drum’s 50 under 30, Women of the Future Awards, Pioneers of XR Award) and is a global keynote speaker on the topic of the metaverse (TEDx, BFI, Adobe, Royal Television Society, Department of International Trade & more). Since joining PwC as the Head of Immersive Technologies in 2022, she is now working alongside the world’s biggest organisations to understand what the XR means for the future of work, entertainment, communication and commerce.

Session details

Monday 20th November, 18:30 – 19:45 BST // Online (Zoom webinar)

Register for this event via the button at the top of the page. You will then be sent a confirmation email with details on how to join the session 48 hours before the event and once again on the morning of the event.

You will have an opportunity throughout the session to ask questions to our speakers, and we encourage you to get thinking now about what you’d like to know!

Please note: this session will be recorded and event footage will be used on YouTube, the BFI website and social platforms.

1hr 15mins

BFI Film Academy Labs

BFI Film Academy Labs are practical online sessions led by industry professionals with a focus on explaining the specifics of working in the screen industries. Sessions can take many formats: masterclasses, panel discussions, interviews or workshops. The Labs are programmed across three strands: Storytelling, Business of Film and Career Ladder.