#IFM Newsletter - Issue 5 - Workshop and Call for Proposals

Welcome to our network newsletter! We are thrilled to share with you the latest developments in our mission to make a positive impact in our community. We invite you to share your news and relevant calls with us!
In this newsletter you can expect:


Save the date: 
#IFM2026
June 9–12, 2026

Resonances Workshop featuring Stornaway:
November 11th

#IFM2026 CFP now open

Submission deadline: December 20th


#IFM2026 Save the Date

The Interactive Film and Media Annual Conference explores digital narratives' transformative impact across various domains, including games, literature, films, journalism, and art. From virtual reality experiences to interactive cinema, we delve into themes that challenge and expand our contemporary worldview.


This interdisciplinary event is a hub for researchers, practitioners, filmmakers, artists, VR and game designers, and media producers. We prioritize debate, interactive workshops, and research-creation demonstrations, fostering connections and inspiring thought-provoking conversations.


Hosted online and facilitated by leading universities, our conference is a global gathering of minds dedicated to exploring the adaptive world of interactivity.


Our 8th edition, scheduled for 9-12 June 2026, will be centered around the provocative and multifaceted theme of "Yet-To-Be-Known."



About the Conference


Stornaway Hands-On Workshop on Interactive Storytelling 

(Free, Online, Open to All)

We’re pleased to announce the following free, hands-on session:


Date & Time: 11 November 2025, 6:00–7:00 pm (GMT)

Hosts: Stornaway and IFM

Format: Interactive review & discussion with a guided software walkthrough

Free Event


Stornaway and IFM are hosting a free hands-on workshop on 11 November 2025, 6 pm - 7 pm (GMT). This event is a follow-up to the workshop held during the Interactive Film and Media Conference 2025 in June, where participants were given a creative task to develop a pilot project exploring the overarching theme of “Resonances.”


More on the theme can be found here: 
Interactive Film and Media Conference 2025


The aim of the November workshop is to review and discuss the projects created by participants, together with the Stornaway team and the IFM organizers. The session will build on the lively and ongoing conversation sparked by the conference’s captivating and multifaceted theme—Resonances.


We encourage you to ground your interactive film in a meaningful sense of place or space. This might include:

  • Your local community

  • Your home

  • Your workplace

  • Yourself

Feel free to interpret this creatively—your perspective and style are key.

Call for Participants

You are invited to create a short interactive pilot film—whether fiction, documentary, experimental, or hybrid—using the Stornaway platform (free-of-charge). Your piece should creatively engage with this year’s conference theme and key questions:

Does resonance in our daily lives solve problems, aggravate them, or create new challenges?
How can we reimagine resonance to build more meaningful connections in the fabric of our everyday existence?
And how can these connections influence our responses to crises, foster resilience, nurture solidarities, and strengthen collective actions?

Submission Deadline: before November 11th
Once your project is published, please send the link via email to: stefano.odorico@tus.ie 


This workshop is open to anyone interested in interactive storytelling and its relationship to resonances. The Stornaway creators will also provide a guided walkthrough of the software, making this a great opportunity to explore its creative potential. 


Even if you did not take part in the June conference, you are welcome to join and create a short interactive piece to be shared during the session.



Click here for more resources

#IFM2026 Yet-To-Be-Known

Call for Proposals

The 8th Interactive Film and Media Conference is excited to announce its Call for Proposals centered around the provocative and multifaceted theme of "Yet-To-Be-Known." 


We live in trying times. Cascading crises—from climate collapse to social injustice to political upheaval—mean that uncertainty is a defining condition of our moment. But we need not see the horizons before us as insurmountable. Interactive Film and Media invites proposals for its eighth conference that engage with the yet-to-be-known. Here, the yet-to-be-known is interpreted as a space of speculative inquiry and creative possibility. We ask: How might we reimagine knowledge, practice, and being in ways that embrace the indeterminacy we now face? How might we work together to harness the potentials of the here-and-now in order to anticipate new futures? 


We seek proposals that explore the speculative as method, as critique, and as world-making gesture; we seek contributions that foreground the emergent, the unstable, and the transformative. Topics might include speculative ecologies, more-than-human ethics, radical pedagogies, future imaginaries of care, experimental archives, and technologies of resistance. Together, let us consider how the yet-to-be-known might become a site of collective imagination and critical intervention.


FULL FREE ADMISSION 

No fee is charged for presentation and attendance at this conference or publication in the journal. 


COMMITMENT TO INCLUSIVITY AND EQUITY 

At IFM, we are deeply committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and accessible environment. In our work, we prioritize inclusive accessibility and parity for protected identities including gender, ethnicity, race, and sexual orientation. We encourage applicants to align with these values and contribute to creating a welcoming and empowering space for all.



Proposal Submissions

We invite academics (faculty, researchers, and Ph.D. students) from a range of disciplines—including media, communication, film, digital studies, visual arts, and beyond—along with practitioners such as filmmakers, artists, VR and game designers, and media producers to submit their proposals for papers, research-creation projects, and new book presentations. While proposals that align with this year's theme are encouraged, we welcome any topics that resonate with the IFM community and its broad intellectual and creative spectrum. 


The submission deadline is December 20, 2025


PAPER ABSTRACT SUBMISSION 

To submit your abstract (500 words long, including the research objectives, theoretical framework, methodology, and hypotheses) and a brief Bio-CV (150-200 words), please download the application form here: IFM2026 Paper Presentation Form and submit it to the section ‘conference paper abstract’ at the #IFM Journal’s Submissions system by the deadline. 


RESEARCH CREATION SUBMISSION 

For research creation and artist/collective project presentation proposals, complete the form, including description, research objectives, theoretical framework and methodology, and a brief Bio-CV (150-200 words). Please download the application form here: IFM2026 Research Creation Form and submit it to the section ‘research creation presentation’ at the #IFM Journal’s Submissions system by the deadline. 


NEW BOOK SUBMISSION 

To take part in the book session, where you can showcase your new release and participate in the publication roundtable during the conference, please complete the form with a brief Bio-CV (150-200 words). Visit the website for more details on this session. Please download the application form here: IFM2026 Book Presentation Form and submit it to the section ‘book presentation’ at the #IFM Journal’s Submissions system by the deadline. 


Join the #IFM list to stay updated on deadlines and discover our community's latest initiatives.

Submit your proposal

#IFM Newsletter  |  Issue 5 - October 2025

Send your news or inquiries to ifmjournal@torontomu.ca

Communications Coordinator: Leah Shafer

Design: Darius Shah and Marta Fiolić


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