This past 26th edition of FMX was held as a hybrid conference, combining the best of both the virtual and the real world:
From May 3-5, 2022, FMX opened its doors for a first-class program on site at Haus der Wirtschaft in Stuttgart.
On May 6, FMX switched to virtual mode, offering an exclusive online program that was available worldwide.
We were thrilled to team up with Director and Producer Hasraf 'HaZ' Dulull, who brought new ideas and inspiration to the conference as FMX's first ever Program Chair. In this new capacity, HaZ became the first person to collaborate directly with the FMX team in developing the conference program, a role that will be appointed on a yearly basis to outstanding members from the international community.
HaZ started his career in video games before moving into visual effects, and then later transitioning over to directing and producing with his breakout feature film THE BEYOND. The indie Sci-Fi film was released in 2018 and was number 2 in the iTunes Charts before being licensed on Netflix and turning into a profitable movie. His second feature film 2036 ORIGIN UNKNOWN starring Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, The Mandalorian) earned a limited theatrical release before landing on Netflix. He was then hired by Disney to helm the pilot for action comedy series FAST LAYNE, where he also served as EP/Creative Consultant on the entire series. HaZ is the co-founder of production company HaZ-Film, producing feature films, TV and video games based on their proprietary pipeline utilizing Unreal Engine.
It's an honour to be selected to be the Program Chair for FMX 2022, especially as I am a huge fan of the event for years as both a speaker and attendee. As Program Chair I aim to bring a fresh perspective to FMX 2022 by working closely with the FMX team on curating sessions that reflect the exciting changes that are happening in the creative industry today. From virtual production approaches to the Metaverse, the rise of brave, bold and innovative artists/creators are pushing the power of realtime to tell stories across various mediums without having to go through traditional gatekeepers, thanks to the accessibility of tools & community knowledge that play a huge part in democratising the pipeline of creating art.
For more than a century, creativity and technology have been challenging each other to deliver ever more exciting and efficient ways to tell stories on screens.
With the evolution of virtual production, realtime, remote and virtual workflows have increasingly improved collaboration and flexibility on the most ambitious projects. Accelerated by the global pandemic, projects of all sizes are now embracing iterative realtime workflows over the traditional linear model.
FMX 2022 looked at people and projects that are further developing and democratizing media & entertainment production, changing the game in unprecedented ways.