The virtual event ran for three days from Wednesday 8 June and featured a busy programme with over 50 speakers from all over the world including Australia, India, Malaysia, Netherlands, Nigeria and Scotland.

The conference is a volunteer-run, open access, peer-reviewed event organised by the Interactive Film & Media Research Network and supported by several universities globally.  It focuses on an array of research around virtual reality, social media, games, digital theory and interactivity in film and media.

At the event, experts in the field of interactive film, media and storytelling delivered traditional presentations, workshops and exhibitions on current interactive media projects. 

Leeds Trinity’s International Research Centre for Interactive Storytelling (IRIS) co-organised this year’s event which was attended by academics, film makers, artists, game designers and media producers from around the globe.  

Dr Stefano Odorico, Director of IRIS, also presented a paper on his latest research at the conference.  The project aims to overcome issues of borders, barriers and walls within the city of Leeds by bringing people together through interactivity and storytelling.  It will result in an interactive documentary based on the map of the city.

Dr Odorico said: “Being a member of the IFM2022 organising committee, together with the other organisers, made me feel part of a big international family composed of people that share the same interest in interactivity, its growing importance in audio visual productions and in the impact it has in our lives and society.”  

Professor Karen Sayer, Institutional Research Lead at Leeds Trinity said: “Co-hosting and playing a key organisational role in this conference reflects colleagues’ high-profile work in the innovative field of interactive storytelling. This international field has grown rapidly over the last ten years, and Leeds Trinity has been at the heart of that global research.” 

Alongside Leeds Trinity, this year’s event was hosted by University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), Ryerson University (Canada), University of Bayreuth (Germany) and The University of Texas at Dallas (USA).

Find more information about the International Research Centre for Interactive Storytelling (IRIS) at Leeds Trinity University on the website.