Event

When War Zones Meet Sundance-quality Virtual Reality

Join filmmaker Christian Stephen in a discussion about new technologies and their relation to reaching a global audience.

Fresh from releasing the Sun Ladies at the Sundance Film Festival – a VR experience detailing the lives of female Kurdish fighters against ISIS – filmmaker Christian Stephen will discuss the role of emerging technologies in reaching a global audience. Part film maker and part technologist, Stephen has traveled the world documenting the lives of fighters and civilians on the front lines in Iraq, Syria, Somalia and more. He is a pioneer in virtual reality and drone footage in film-making. His work is devoted to using new methods to bring people closer to understanding conflict and those caught in the crossfire.

Internationally recognized as a pioneer and leader in the field of innovative journalism, as well as a respected investigative reporter, Christian has covered stories in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Gaza, Central African Republic, Nepal, Turkey, India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, among others.

Recently he has embedded on the front lines against ISIS with the Kurdish Peshmerga, has broken news in Nepal and Gaza, and reported the bacha bazi story in Afghanistan months before The New York Times. His work, creating multimedia stories for VICE, MSNBC, Vocativ, The Economist, RYOT News, and more, has been featured in over 200 international news outlets including The Associated Press, BBC, WIRED, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, The Independent, and more.

Christian has been profiled by Larry King, NPR, WIRED, and BBC News, among others, and delivered keynotes at the UN Foundation, Sundance Film Festival, the Mashable Social Good Summit, the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, and the Kaleidoscope International Film Festival.

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6:00 – 7:00 pm – Reception and VR experience

7:00 – 8:00 pm – Briefing and Q&A

8:00 – 8:30 pm – Reception

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For any questions please email Anar Akhundov at aakhundov@network2020.org