Stories Spoken, Stories Seen, Wits
Fri Aug 21, 08:00 - Sat Aug 22, 21:00
Wits Anglo American Digital Dome
ABOUT
Bringing African stories to the forefront of immersive technology in the Dome.
We're back and bigger than before!
After the incredible response to our first Digital Dome Festival in 2025, we couldn't stop at one. So we're doing it again, and we want you there.
Our theme this year is:
Stories Spoken Stories Seen
Africa has always been a continent of storytellers. From oral traditions passed down through generations to the wisdom woven into everyday life. This festival is a retelling of those stories, reimagined for the digital age. Think ancient narratives meeting cutting-edge technology. Think culture, creativity, and connection - all under one dome.
What to expect:
Immersive experiences
Dome animations
VR Experiences
Worskshops
Panels
Projections
Venues across South Africa, including the Wits Anglo American Digital Dome in Johannesburg, Naval Hill Planetarium in Bloemfontein, Sutherland Planetarium in Sutherland, Nelson Mandela University Digital Dome in Port Elizabeth, and Iziko Planetarium & Digital Dome in Cape Town.
Please note this event is specific to the Wits Anglo America Digital Dome.
DAY 1
Schedule 1
We also have a VR Alley open from 09:00 - 15:00 every day with works ranging from student projects to industry porfessionals.
Friday Headline Event : 19:00 - 21:00
Tickets: R50
Evenings Theme: Immersive Conservation
Close Encounters
Telmo dos Reis
Close Encounters is a fulldome film that takes its audience on an immersive virtual safari, bringing audiences face-to-face with Africa's iconic animals.
This full dome experience sheds light on a new type of immersive experience, adventuring a little closer to home than those place in the cosmos. From this, we experience the outdoors in the comfort of a dome as we experience our continents beautiful animals.
Xyla
Kylie A Eriksen, Garrett E Eriksen
This is a VR documentary based in the Cango Wildlife conservation facility in the Western Cape. This documentary follows Xyla, a cheetah, and her journey in returning to the wild.
This documentary not only informs us of the importance of conservation, but also how a new medium can tell a beautiful story through immersion and gain the attention of millions from around the world. With Immersive Media being a new-and-upcoming digital medium, we also get insight into behind the scenes in how the footage was recorded, processed and created into the documentary we see before us.
Catering will be provided for the evening.
DAY 2
Day 2 Schedule
We also have a VR Alley open from 09:00 - 15:00 every day with works ranging from student projects to industry porfessionals.
Saturday Headline Event: 19:00 - 21:00
Tickets: R50
Evenings Theme: Immersive live coding
Inganekwane: Coding Living Stories
Renzo Filinich x T A N Z
This evenings event is an immersive live coding performance that reimagines the Zulu tradition of inganekwane
through computational performance. Rather than translating oral stories into digital media,
the work asks how the principles of oral storytelling—improvisation, repetition, variation, listening,
and collective experience shape the creation of sound and image in real time..
Format
Immersive live audiovisual performance (30 minutes)
Technologies
- Live coding with SuperCollider/MaxMSP (spatial audio)
- Live coding with Hydra (360° generative visuals)
- Octophonic sound diffusion
- Fulldome projection
Catering will be provided for the evening.
WORKSHOPS & PANELS
These are our list of workshops happening over both days:
SCREENINGS
PARTNERS
