HXDI Lecturer Judit Samper awarded Winner of Virtual Reality category at 2020 Chelsea Film Festival
Judit Samper, Lecturer in Multi-Media Design and Immersive Storytelling, is Winner of the Virtual Reality Category at the 2020 Chelsea Film Festival for here film The Echoing of Fire and Life!
This year the festival was be held online, available at Filmfest Plus from October 15–19.
For a peek into her work, take a look at the film TRAILER.
The short film is aimed at an international audience and thus it explores the concept and historical origin behind the Moors and Christians Festival, as well as the acts that compose it. The Moors and Christians Festival of Biar recalls the conflict between the Almohads, a Moorish people, and the troops of King James I of Aragon The Conqueror which took place in the year 1245. The festivities began centuries ago and are dedicated to the Virgin Mare de Déu de Gracia. Among its most outstanding acts are “La Entrada” (“The Entrance”) on May 10th, “La Bajada de la Virgen” (“The Carrying of the Virgin”), the lighting of hundreds of bonfires in the mountains surrounding the town, as well as “El Baile de los Espias” (“The Spies’ Dance”) which takes place in the afternoon of May 11th and concludes with the arrival at the castle installed in the main square of the effigy of La Mahoma.
In addition to the Chelsea Film Festival, Judit’s film has been accepted to a number of international film festivals including making 2020 Official Selection at the FIVARS (Festival of International Virtual and Augmented Reality Stories) in Toronto, one of the biggest International VR festivals. October 7th – November 2nd 2020.
Join us in welcoming Judit Samper to the Department of Design and the MA in Human Experience Design Interactions (HXDI)
Judit Samper is a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist with nearly 15 years of multimedia experience. She studied Fine Arts in Spain, France, and England and holds an MFA from the Polytechnic University of Valencia. She worked in TV as a motion-graphic artist, on camera, as editor, and as director of live programs. Judit has specialized in Virtual Reality shooting, post production, editing and VFX. Her work has been exhibited internationally in Spain, France, Portugal and New York, and has won several awards in video and photography. Her work for the New York Times, “Under a Cracked Sky”, was an official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017. In 2020, “Still Here”, a piece she worked on for Al Jazeera, was an official selection at Sundance in 2020. She has contributed to more than 60 VR productions; some of the clients she worked with include Google, Disney, The Metropolitan Museum of New York, CBS, United Launch Alliance, Conde Nast and World Vision. Her work has been exhibited internationally in Spain, France, Portugal and New York, and has won several awards in video and photography. Her work for the New York Times, “Under a Cracked Sky”, was an official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017. In 2020, “Still Here”, a piece she worked on for Al Jazeera, was an official selection at Sundance in 2020.
Director's Biography
Judit Samper Albero has a Master in Fine Arts from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and completed her studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux and Complutense in Madrid. She studied post-production and animation in London and began her audiovisual career in various media in the Canary Islands. She has lived in New York for seven years, where she has specialized in the production and post-production of virtual reality videos and worked on this type of immersive documentary or advertising pieces for companies such as Disney, Google, NASA / ULA and The New York Times, among others.
The Master of Arts in Human Experience Design Interactions (HXDI) program is designed for students to develop expertise with the tools and methods of experience design; as a strategy for making, and adding value to systems, products, spaces, and services. Judit Samper is an exciting addition to the MA_HXDI program and the Department of Design. Her background and expertise open new professional pathways for our students. Through Judit’s instruction, students will develop skills to tell their stories through immersive storytelling, spherical video, and XR prototyping. Find out more about Judit’s work at: info@judithsamper.com
