On October 9–10, Infinity Festival returns to Hollywood, California, to discuss innovations in applied technology for production. With a balance of technology and production, Infinity Festival features a high concentration of influential players in the industry, including representation from technology companies sharing their latest solutions, the studios that apply such technology, and international business and academic delegations, as well as important Hollywood organizations vital to a healthy community in an industry that evolves and self-disrupts daily.
Barbara Marshall, global segment lead, Media & Entertainment at HP, hosting Oscar-winning visual effects innovator Rob Legato. (Source: Infinity Festival, photo by Adco)
Forget the red carpets for a moment. In today’s Hollywood, the celebrities are not only in front of the cameras, but also the ones who are behind the scenes, rewriting the rules and blending wild imagination with groundbreaking technology. They are “innovators in the age of change,” and for two days this October, their stage will be Infinity Festival.
Now in its eighth year, Infinity Festival isn’t just another industry conference. It’s an intimate gathering where Hollywood’s storytelling legacy collides with Silicon Valley’s relentless drive for the future. During this time, active discussions flow, about recent experiments and learnings from the adoption of new technologies and techniques, and upcoming plans for the next chapter of entertainment. It also gives a stage to upcoming generations of creators that provide fresh perspectives to the rest of us, regardless of how many years we have been in the industry.
The event organizers include Mark Lieber, founder and CEO of Infinity Festival, and Adam Newman, chief creative officer, and they count on the expertise of a board of advisers comprising dozens of senior M&E industry and technology leaders. They describe the event as this: “Infinity Festival is where Hollywood meets Silicon Valley. This multi-day event in Los Angeles is the original celebration of entertainment and technology, and has become a must-attend for industry leaders exploring the future of film and TV production, gaming, and immersive experiences. With a focus on groundbreaking tools like AI, virtual production and immersive tech, Infinity Festival showcases the innovations shaping the next generation of media and technology.”
Infinity Festival will be hosted in two locations: the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and the newly opened Sony Pictures Imageworks mid-Wilshire campus on Los Angeles’ Museum Row at the Miracle Mile.
The festival is sponsored by technology partners like AMD, HP, and Nvidia, each a supplier of critical technology for the Media & Entertainment studios, with a big portfolio of local and cloud compute processors, workstations, and services. The event will also feature The Belgian Economic Mission, which highlights Belgian expertise and business across various industries. Finally, Mike Ford, CTO of Sony Pictures Imageworks, and Mandy Tankenson, SVP, head of production at Sony Pictures Imageworks, will serve as festival co-chairs.
The event will focus on the entire production pipeline—from concept to final frame—and is designed for studio leaders, indie creators, students, and Academy Award–winning directors alike, offering an unparalleled look at how artificial intelligence is transforming every stage of storytelling.
Panel of industry leaders discussing the applied innovation on production. (Source: Infinity Festival, photo by Hung Doan)
“Infinity Festival is at the intersection of technology and creativity, bringing together individuals for meaningful conversations that explore the future of storytelling. We are honored to co-chair the eighth edition of the festival and look forward to sharing ideas that inspire imagination, fuel creativity, and spark innovation,” stated Ford and Tankenson.
Other partners include the Hollywood Partnership, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, ETC at USC, Women in Technology Hollywood, and ASIFA, with additional partners still to be announced.
The 2025 speaker lineup is being finalized and will be announced soon. For more information and ticket purchases, click here.
What do we think?
While big conferences like Siggraph and NAB gather thousands of people that listen to companies’ official statements and narratives from “few to many,” Infinity Festival proposes a different yet complementary approach: an intimate event of a few hundred highly influential players, providing opportunities for all kinds of hallway conversations, speaker interactions, and overall access to them like I haven’t seen at most other events, at least not at this level.
This smaller format also allows presenters to have deeper conversations and discuss ideas, even if controversial or not yet fully baked. Similarly, industry leaders get direct feedback through their interactions with attendees during the event.
I have always liked the key big conferences, and I’ll continue attending and contributing to the best of my ability. Having said that, I have developed a level of appreciation for Infinity Festival since my first participation in 2023. It makes me feel part of the event and the conversation. As a bonus, it’s a wonderful place to network, not by just connecting on LinkedIn, but through conversations about technology and sharing insights to solve real industry challenges. I recommend you attend at least once and judge for yourself.
Editor’s note: This is not a sponsored article.
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