Diliana Alexander reflects on FilmGate #12, Storytelling, and Innovation
A longtime partner of Villa Albertine Miami, Diliana Alexander continues to push boundaries with the FilmGate Interactive Media Festival. As the festival marks its 12th edition, our collaboration reaches a new milestone with the launch of the Villa Albertine Immersive Storytelling Prize—another chapter in a partnership that keeps growing.
Find the full interview here, as she reflects on this 12th edition—and more broadly on the structuring partnership connecting FilmGate with the French XR ecosystem.
1 — Looking back, what made this year’s edition especially meaningful for you?
This year’s edition felt like a true moment of convergence. We saw immersive storytelling evolve beyond experimentation into something more emotional, more communal, and more embodied. The theme of resonance really came to life—not just through the work, but through how audiences, creators and tech companies, experienced it together. From the sold-out dome screenings to the interactive installations and live conversations, there was a palpable sense that people were inside stories, feeling them, and carrying them with them. Prime examples were the French projects – Heartbeat and Insider Outsider. For me, what made it especially meaningful was witnessing how artists, tech companies, funders, government agencies and audiences connected across disciplines, cultures, and technologies in a way that felt both intimate and expansive at the same time.
2 — How has the relationship with France evolved, and where is it going?
Our relationship with France has grown into something deeply collaborative and creatively aligned. What began as participation has evolved into true exchange—where artists, institutions, and ideas move fluidly between our ecosystems. Through partners like Villa Albertine, we’ve been able to build bridges that are not just about showcasing work, but about co-creating, experimenting, and pushing the boundaries of immersive storytelling together. Looking ahead, I see this relationship becoming even more integrated—through co-productions, labs, residencies, and shared platforms that connect Miami and France as hubs of cultural and technological innovation. There’s a real opportunity to build something transatlantic that feels both cutting-edge and deeply human.
3 — What does the Villa Albertine Immersive Storytelling Prize represent, and why does it matter now?The launch of the Villa Albertine Immersive Storytelling Prize marks a powerful shift—recognizing that immersive work is not just about technology, but about narrative, authorship, and meaning. Its first recipient, INSIDER–OUTSIDER, beautifully reflects this ethos: a deeply poetic, interactive VR experience inspired by outsider artist Henry Darger, whose unseen life’s work now resonates across time. The project’s exploration of creation outside institutional systems mirrors the lived reality of many artists in Miami, and echoes this year’s theme of Resonance—stories that linger, vibrate, and connect across worlds. At a moment when AI and new tools are transforming how we create, this prize affirms the importance of work that is intentional, human, and emotionally immersive. For FilmGate Interactive, it reinforces our mission to champion artists who are not only innovating technologically, but shaping the future of storytelling in ways that feel urgent, soulful, and culturally vital.