Villa Albertine Awards Inaugural Immersive Storytelling Prize to Philippe Cohen Solal for VR Musical Experience INSIDER-OUTSIDER
Miami, March 26, 2026 – The FilmGate Interactive Media Festival, known for showcasing works that represent the potential inherent in digital creation, was the setting for a new award: the Villa Albertine Immersive Storytelling Prize. French artist and musician Philippe Cohen Solal was its first recipient.
The Villa Albertine Immersive Storytelling Prize recognizes a project presented at the FilmGate Interactive Media Festival deemed outstanding for the strength and originality of its narrative. Following a jury-led deliberation, Philippe Cohen Solal was named the inaugural winner of the prize for INSIDER-OUTSIDER, a VR musical experience inspired by the work of Henry Darger, a world-renowned “outsider artist” whose work remained unknown until his death.
Co-produced by Lucid Realities and Science & Mélodie, the INSIDER-OUTSIDER experience is part of a vast transmedia project entitled OUTSIDER, led by Solal. The project combines music, animation, and artistic performances to reinterpret Henry Darger’s work.
INSIDER-OUTSIDER was selected from a field of 12 entries representing projects in Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Dome Experiences. In total, creators and collaborators from 8 countries, including 4 from France, submitted works for consideration by the jury.
“It is our pleasure to award the first-ever Villa Albertine Immersive Storytelling Prize to Philippe Cohen Solal, whose INSIDER-OUTSIDER draws upon Henry Darger’s singular universe,” said Mohamed Bouabdallah, Cultural Counselor of France in the United States and Director of Villa Albertine. “Inspired by Darger’s œuvre, Cohen Solal has masterfully utilized techniques and technologies to create a new, intimate work rich in symbolism and meaning.”
“I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Villa Albertine jury for this Immersive Storytelling Prize, awarded at the FilmGate Festival in Miami,” stated Philippe Cohen Solal. “This honor resonates deeply with the very essence of INSIDER-OUTSIDER: a virtual reality experience that invites viewers to immerse themselves visually, musically, and interactively in the unique world of American writer and artist Henry Darger.”
A French musician, composer, and producer, Philippe Cohen Solal is one of the founding members of Gotan Project. A versatile artist with a passion for technology, he now draws inspiration from the works of Henry Darger, a leading figure in Art Brut, to create his transmedia project INSIDER-OUTSIDER, which blends live performance, music, and immersive experiences.
Founded in 2012, the FilmGate Interactive Media Festival is known as one of the world’s premiere New Media festivals. Since its inception, the festival has become a major platform for immersive technologies, artificial intelligence, and interactive arts. Now in its 12th year, the program has welcomed over 400 artists, presented hundreds of works, and organized over 200 panels and networking sessions.
FilmGate founder Diliana Alexander has forged lasting ties with many of Miami’s most respected civic institutions. Recognizing the city as a natural and vibrant hub for creators throughout the English, Spanish, and Francophone Caribbean, she and Villa Albertine developed a partnership between FilmGate and the Nouveaux Regards festival in Guadeloupe. As part of this exchange, Guadeloupean filmmakers came to Miami in 2023 for an immersive program including networking and pitch development.
Villa Albertine is proud to have supported FilmGate Interactive Media Festival since its inception. A close collaborator, Diliana Alexander participated as a juror to select Villa Albertine’s Miami residents in 2022.