Circle, the training platform for women and gender-expansive filmmakers, is moving into XR and immersive media with a new international program developed alongside Onassis ONX. Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentarian Katerina Cizek has been appointed head of studies for the initiative.
“Circle Expanded Orbit” will run Nov. 21–26, in Athens, bringing together creators working across XR, mixed reality, VR, AR, AI and game-based storytelling. Applications are open to filmmakers, artists and multidisciplinary storytellers working alone or in pairs; the deadline is July 23, with shortlisted candidates invited to interview in late August.
Onassis ONX – the Onassis Foundation’s platform for art and advanced technologies, with operations in Athens and New York – is co-organising the program. The partnership aligns Circle’s peer-driven talent development model with Onassis ONX’s focus on digital and immersive creative expression.
Cizek co-founded the Co-Creation Studio at MIT Open Documentary Lab, where she serves as artistic director. As head of studies, she will shape the program’s pedagogical and creative framework.
“I am honored to join Circle, and to expand the orbit of remarkable creators into the myriad of creative and critical possibilities of emergent tech and media. We are so honored to collaborate with Onassis ONX at this inaugural event, to bridge many worlds. The learnings in our circle will flow in all directions, as women and gender-expansive creators too bring urgent and important perspectives to this field,” Cizek said.
