August 5-7, 2021

Online conference

Extended deadline: Monday April 26, 2021

Hosted by:

• Ryerson University (Canada)
• The Glasgow School of Art (Scotland)
• University of São Paulo (Brazil)
• The University of Texas at Dallas (USA)

This virtual edition of the Interactive Film and Media conference on ‘new narratives, racialization, global crises, and social engagement’ is dedicated to the development, analysis, and research processing of the digital experience that is transforming our contemporary world vision through the immense range of storytelling practices, including visual arts, cinema, digital/graphic/interactive narratives, virtual reality, games, etc. The purpose of this conference is to bring together researchers and practitioners working in diverse disciplinary areas to establish an interdisciplinary framework for research on contemporary narratives, including case studies of the multimodal narratives across media and cultures.

In the wake of the death of George Floyd, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter has gone viral across the world raising many concerns about the media’s role in our society. Today, it is not enough for the media to not be racist: it must actively be anti-racist. It would not be an overestimation to say that the participation of media in discourses other than those centered on racism is also paramount: it played a decisive role in many recent social and political events, including the pandemic crisis. Therefore, this conference is proposing to examine how media around the world are dealing with the aftermath of these developments. This conference also aims to discuss how the late proliferation of online social events and the increased fragmentation of the discourse via microblogging, subtitling, hashtags, and the enhanced sharing of images through screenshots, short-form videos, selfies, and video calls have affected interactive narratives.

We are inviting interdisciplinary proposals reflecting on the recent changes to the mediascape and the closely related medium of interactive narrative, in its many forms and iterations. Submissions that consider the advantages and drawbacks of the current trends in film, media, and interactive narratives, will be of special value, as well as those that develop new approaches to the process of algorithmization and hybridization between the information ecosystems dominated by tech enterprises and the mediasphere’s micro-level, where the instant-message apps transform our everyday lives by exposing polarized and contradictory messages, disseminating the misinformation.

The organizers will consider unpublished works that present research results and/or theoretical reflections within the scope of Interactive Film and Media Studies, with a special focus on ‘new narratives, racialization, global crises, and social engagement’.

CONFERENCE FEE: No registration fee will be charged for participation/presentation at this conference.

SUBMITTING PROPOSALS

Submit an abstract (around 500 words in length including the research objectives, theoretical framework, methodology, and conclusions) and a brief Bio-CV (100 words maximum). Please fill out the form available at https://forms.gle/…dP7

CONTACT EMAIL: interactivefilmconference@gmail.com

MORE INFO: https://interactivefilm.blogspot.com