Infinity Festival’s Retooled Monolith Awards To Honor Feats In Various Entertainment Tech Categories

Infinity Festival, whose exhibitions and conversations and events combine art, entertainment and technology, is returning in November with a retooled edition of the Monolith Awards.

Now in its seventh year, the fest is anchored by the awards, which recognize achievements in a range of areas including real-time production, AI-driven creativity and immersive technologies. Deadline is a presenting media sponsor of the event, which will take place at The Aster and Avalon Hollywood.

Dane Smith, executive producer of the Monoliths, has created new categories and updated the overall effort to honor the creators and projects that are “actively redefining the future of Hollywood,” a press release said.

Monolith categories include Audio-Driven Narrative; Excellence in User Experience; New Media Fine Art; Virtual Art Department; and Visualization. Also on tap are the Visionary Innovation Award, Live Engagement Award, Excellence in Technical Achievement – AI, Creative Achievement Award – AI, Next Gen, Technology Break Through and Best of Fest. A Distinguished Member of the Tech Art Community award will also be presented.

While shining a light on emerging names is a key part of the Monoliths, past recipients of the award have included well-known figures like director James Cameron, filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, composer and director A. R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) and new media artist Refik Anadol.

This year’s edition of the festival will be held in Hollywood from November 6 to 9. Two senior Sony Pictures Imageworks execs, CTO Mike Ford and Head of Production Mandy Tankenson, have been set as fest co-chairs.

“The Monolith Awards have become an integral part of our event,” festival founder Mark Lieber said. “Dane has expertly curated categories that not only recognize groundbreaking achievements in technology-driven content creation but also highlight the extraordinary work of creators who are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. This year’s awards will celebrate the pioneers whose contributions are shaping the future of Hollywood and beyond.”

This year’s festival is produced by PRG, which is also involved in the production of the Academy Awards, Emmys and Grammys. Presenting sponsors include Z By HP, Nvidia and Intel.