Real, surreal and virtual? How the technological framework changes the discussion about the role of the artist today? In his presentation, Momchil Alexiev talks about the relationship between these three terms, how we can talk about the virtual here and now, and shows examples from his practice in film, theatre and VR/XR.
Momchil Alexiev, lecturer
Momchil Alexiev graduated from La Sapienza University in Rome and the Dutch Film Academy – NFTA. Since 2007 he has been directing his own film projects and is stage designer of theatre productions in Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, Bulgaria and the Netherlands. As founder of Actifilm (since 2007) he focuses his work on seeking new organic connections between performance, cinematic space and video projections. His current work is a continuation of this process. In it he explores “The state of spectatorship in the context of immersive cinema”. Momchil has directed short and interactive 360° films screened at festivals such as VR Days Europe and SIFF. He is the founder of the first Bulgarian platform for virtual reality “VR Lab BG” and has got a Sundance Institute Fellowhip. The focus of his work in his projects is to expand the discussion on the changing state of spectatorship and to develop the idea of “immersion” as a dramaturgical module for storytelling.