ABOUT
Since 2018, CIRCLE training initiative has worked to shift who gets to tell stories and how, championing women and gender-expansive filmmakers. With CIRCLE Expanded Orbit, CIRCLE opens a new space dedicated to immersive storytelling and XR-based practices. The first edition of the programme is co-organised with Onassis ONX, the Onassis Foundation’s global platform for art and advanced technologies.
CIRCLE Expanded Orbit is open to filmmakers, artists, and co-creative teams who creatively and critically explore emergent media forms (XR, MR, VR, AR, AI, games) to address gender in interactive, immersive, and synthetic realms.
We are looking for bold, innovative projects from women and gender-expansive filmmakers and artists that push the boundaries of storytelling and engage audiences in new, meaningful ways.
The CIRCLE Expanded Orbit Programme
CIRCLE Expanded Orbit brings together a selected group of creators and some of the most respected voices in immersive media today; world-leading experts across storytelling, technology, art, and design, to develop projects through a structured programme of mentorship, exchange, and development.
The programme supports both conceptual and practical development, offering space to refine ideas, test approaches, and position projects within the field of immersive and emerging media practices. Participants will engage in individual mentorship, group sessions, co-creation workshops, and structured feedback, alongside access to an international network of professionals working across film, contemporary art, design, and technology.
CIRCLE Expanded Orbit supports cross-disciplinary approaches and projects situated at the intersection of cinema, contemporary art, and experimental media.
Head of Studies: Katerina Cizek
As Head of Studies, Katerina Cizek, PhD will guide the programme’s pedagogical and creative framework, working alongside CIRCLE and invited mentors.
A Peabody and Emmy Award-winning documentarian, author, and producer, Katerina has spent over 25 years pioneering new forms of digital storytelling and collaborative media. She is co-founder and Artistic Director of the Co-Creation Studio at MIT Open Documentary Lab, where she leads interdisciplinary projects that bring together communities, researchers, and creators at the intersection of documentary, journalism, and emerging technology. Her presence shapes the intellectual and creative core of this programme.
Who Can Apply?
CIRCLE Expanded Orbit is part of CIRCLE training initiative’s ongoing commitment to supporting women and gender-expansive filmmakers and creators working across contemporary and emerging media. We welcome applications from:
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Filmmakers, artists, XR creators, and multidisciplinary storytellers (with or without prior XR experience)
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Who identify as a woman or gender-expansive filmmaker
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Individuals or teams (maximum of 2 people per project)
We strongly encourage applications from international teams and creators of all backgrounds. CIRCLE Expanded Orbit is built on the belief that the most compelling work emerges from a diversity of perspectives, cultures, and lived experiences.
What kind of projects?
Applicants should be developing, or in early stages of, a project with a strong artistic vision and a clear interest in immersive formats.
A producer should already be attached, and part of the project’s budget should be secured.
Projects should:
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Propose innovative immersive narrative experiences
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Explore interactivity, spatial storytelling, or audience agency
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Demonstrate a clear artistic and conceptual vision
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Be open to development, iteration, and collaboration
Participation Fee
The participation fee is €2,000 per person (€4,000 for a team of two).
Scholarships covering up to 50% of the participation fee are available. Priority is given to participants from low production capacity countries, countries without national training scholarships, or those with demonstrated financial need. We encourage all applicants to also explore funding through their national or regional institutions.
Key Information
Programme dates
November 21–26, 2026
Application deadline
July 2, 2026
Location
Athens, Greece
Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interviews during the final week of August.
Results will be communicated by email at the end of August.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted via the online form by July 2, 2026.
About Onassis ONX
Onassis ONX is partner is the first edition of CIRCLE Expanded Orbit. It's the Onassis Foundation’s global platform for art and advanced technologies. As a catalyst for digital cultures, it empowers creatives who build transformative works while also bolstering a network of institutions and industries ready to respond to new forms of creative expression. With physical presence in Athens and New York City, the modular infrastructure that Onassis ONX builds enables experimentation and circulation, fostering innovative works projects that meaningfully engage with audiences around the world.