Keram Malicki-Sanchez (Executive Director/Founder)
Keram founded VRTO in spring 2015. He is also the editor-in-chief of IndieGameReviewer.com since 2008 and founder of FIVARS – the Festival of International Virtual and Augmented Reality Stories and executive director of the VRTO Virtual & Augmented Reality World Conference.
A graduate of UCLA’s certification programs in Cinematography, Producing and Digital Media, he is also an alumnus of Werner Herzog’s Rogue Film School, was a student in Ryerson University’s inaugural New Media Studies program, business and creative consultant to a wide variety of tech companies, and has 30 years of experience as an actor in Hollywood. He has been invited to speak about the intersection of technology and the arts for the past 25 years and has been featured in Toronto Star, CBC, New Yorker, Forbes, and has spoken at ideacity, Digital Hollywood, NAB, CNE Innovation Garage, Cinegear Expo and many more.
He most recently contributed essays to two books published in 2020: Dyscorpia: Future Intersections of the Body and Technology, Edited by Marilene Oliver and Daniel Laforest, Published by Dept of Art and Design, University of Alberta and Handbook of Research on the Global Impacts and Roles of Immersive Media (editors: Jacquelyn Ford Morie (All These Worlds, LLC, USA) and Kate McCallum (Bridge Arts Media, USA and Vortex Immersion Media, USA). In 2020 he composed the score for a TV movie for Lifetime Network about domestic violence called Sleeping With Danger.
Listen to some interviews with Keram about immersive media
Voices of VR Podcast #957: How FIVARS Festival is Using WebXR to Deliver 360 Video
Listen at: Voices of VR
Keram & WebXR developer James Baicoianu talk with Kent Bye about how they repurposed the open-source JanusXR code in order to create a platform to deliver 360 video. “It’s a pioneering effort to push the technology forward this way, and they share details about the struggles of their journey and why they see it as import to create a sovereign platform. The festival itself has an independent, avant-garde spirit, and that’s reflected in how they’re also trying to push the technology forward to show folks what’s possible with WebXR.”
Keram Malicki-Sanchez: Storytelling & the Future of VR @fivarstories RVS012
(listen now) (watch on YouTube)
Episode Info
Keram Malicki-Sanchez @kmalickisanchez is the founder and director of the experimental Festival of International Virtual and Augmented Stories in Toronto. We chat all things VR, 360, storytelling, and the future of VR – fivars.net
The WhaleCast Episode 35: Keram Malicki-Sanchez and Virtual Reality
(listen now)
Eric sits down with Keram Malicki-Sanchez, the organizer of VRTO and the founder of IndieGameReviewer.com and the recent FIVARS Festival of International Virtual and Augment Reality Stories. They discuss the art and business of virtual reality and the ways that independent artists are experimenting with an entirely new creative medium.
The Animator’s Guide to VR – ArdeeXYZ
(listen now)
Rick Dolishny, the host of this podcast and the founder of ardeeXYZ VR Animation Studio interviews Keram Malicki-Sanchez, Founder of VRTO and FIVARS about the VRTO Virtual & Augmented Reality World Conference & Expo 2016.
Fellowship of Organizers – The VRTO Team
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- Stephanie Greenall – Event Producer, Communications
Stephanie has over a decade of experience in event management, from intimate workshops to large scale conferences—including the Leading Healthcare Quality Summit & Innovations Expo. In addition to events, she has consulted on product viability of wearable technologies from China and Canada, and is a regular contributor to NOVO magazine, Whether it’s online or offline, Stephanie is dedicated to building authentic relationships. Starting her career in public relations she worked for a variety of clients including Dyson, Pfizer, and Reader’s Digest. With the advent of social media, she transitioned her skills to drive strategic narratives through these new platforms including with the FIVARS festival and the VRTO World Conference. - Chrissy Aitchison – Production Manager, Graphic Design
Chrissy Aitchison is a graphic designer and marketing professional with over a decade of experience in design for print and web, brand development, marketing, advertising, and content creation including writing and photography. Working primarily with organizations that require comprehensive marketing and communications consultation, Chrissy has shared her expertise a host of charitable organizations, educational institutions and professional associations, as well as small businesses and professionals working in the arts and entertainment. - Joshua Miles Joudrie – AV Lead
Josh leads all A/V departments for VRTO. He started in film as a boom operator and production sound mixer in 1994, providing production sound for countless commercials and TV series (John Woo’s Once a Thief, CBC’s Drop The Beat to name a few) His production sound crew won a Genie Award for Best Achievement in Overall Sound for Clement Virgo’s feature Love Come Down. (2000) Josh has been a freelance sound engineer since 1989, mixing front of house, sound tech and touring with such artists as Moby, Tao Cruz, Nelly Furtado, The Trews, and Sarah Slean, He more recently was 2nd audio lead in Toronto’s 2015 Pan/ParaPanam games and in the visual effects department on Stephen King’s The Mist for Netflix. - Ben Cross – Web Design
Ben Cross is a filmmaker, art curator and web designer based in Los Angeles, California.
- Stephanie Greenall – Event Producer, Communications
If you are interested in becoming a part of the VRTO team/volunteering for future events, email us today!