THE JENA FULLDOME FESTIVAL – ABOUT US

In 2007, a group of dedicated students and lecturers gathered at the Jena Planetarium to present their first original works in the new 360-degree medium. We boldly called it "The First Jena FullDome Festival". A legend was born! Now in its 20th year, the FullDome Festival is arguably the oldest continuously running event of its kind. As it happens, our host venue, the Zeiss Planetarium Jena, is the oldest continuously operating planetarium in the world. As the saying goes: 20 is the new 100!

WHAT DO WE DO?

Festival visitors watch and evaluate international fulldome films, meet professional, student and independent producers and artists, and take part in workshops, presentations and expert talks. The festival's curators, an international jury and the festival directors assess the submitted works and select the most innovative productions for the festival's awards, the JANUS Awards. The FullDome Festival offers the general public a comprehensive overview of the state of the medium, while also serving as a forum and marketplace for artists and producers to present their work to an informed audience. We actively support – and are continually inspired by – the new approaches and immersive experiments that emerge at every festival, including live concerts and performances, children's films and club culture in the 360-degree dome. With around 800 contributions from 30 nations and nearly 10,000 visitors since 2007, the FullDome Festival is likely the largest international festival of its kind. Finding like-minded people, drawing inspiration from new ideas and forging collaborations are the hallmarks of the annual FullDome Festival.

A core mission of the FullDome Festival has always been to encourage new talent to push the boundaries of what is possible in the dome. Many students who have participated in the festival over the years now work in planetariums and technology companies specialising in immersive media. If you are looking for talent, the festival in Jena is the place to be. The festival culminates in a highlight: the awards ceremony, where the prestigious JANUS Awards once again honour groundbreaking productions and recognise outstanding achievement in the field of immersive fulldome media.

WHERE ARE WE HEADED?

We see the rapid evolution of fulldome media as an invitation to continually rethink the festival's structure and programme. How can we best serve the community? How do we meet the expectations of producers, planetarium professionals and the general public? The Jena FullDome Festival seeks to encourage people from planetariums, fulldome theatres, universities and museums, as well as creative artists, pioneers and providers, to embrace fulldome as an educational tool, as an immersive art form and as a consciousness-expanding experience.

"Praise the Dome!"