A decade of Eastern European innovation
After signing some of the most internationally selected immersive works emerging from Romania (“Tangible Utopias: Urban Futurism”, “Human Violins: Prelude”, “DreamNA: The Afterlife”), the groundbreaking body of work of transmedia artist and futurist Ioana Mischie gradually propels her into a professional with impeccable craft, powerful art direction, advanced interactive grammars and a solid proof of social impact in communities of youth. Her creative signature reveals stories about Eastern European identities blending spirituality, technological advancement and intuitive superpowers.
After co-founding the first transmedia association in Romania, 12 years ago, and after facilitating the creation of an Eastern European community of immersive creators, the artist was acknowledged as the Romanian virtual worlds expert by European Commission’s VR/AR Coalition, included among the continent’s best visionary thinkers, practitioners and industrial innovators.
Along with the daring works of art selected at top-notch festivals worldwide such as Festival de Cannes, Venice Biennale, The Webby Awards, European XR Awards, the pioneer contributed with new coined terms and terminology to the field published at NYU Press or MIT Press. Most notably, she has coined a philosophical manifest in her PhD thesis: inventing a new audio-visual genre entitled “noetic fiction” (“noe-fi”), aiming to design futures fueled by the advancement of human consciousness, instead of science fiction (“sci-fi”), aimed to design futures fueled by the advancement of technology. This decade-long track record earned her reputation as a regional “Queen of Transmedia”, advancing immersive and interactive grammars with pionnering theoretical and practical frameworks.
Along with highly reputed countries such as USA, France, Canada, UK, Germany which constantly fund VR innovative projects with consistent amounts, Romania is gradually propelled to be considered one of the appreciated immersive countries thanks to projects such as “Human Violins: Prelude”, a transmedia installation reuniting single-player and multi-player VR experiences which was the first Romanian VR to premiere at A class festivals worldwide (Cannes Festival, Venice Biennale) and returned home with a multitude of accolades. This rare performance take place in a context of a massively under-financed national culture, where the national PIB for culture is brutally decreased.
Human Violins Prelude marked more than an immersive experience, hitting new milestones for the industry. The project marked the first international co-production in VR (RO-FR), the first national multi-player VR project and was perceived to be one of the trendsetting experiences in terms of storyline and art direction globally. AFCN (Administratia Fondului Cultural National) was the first funding body to support the immersive work and after this local encouragement and multiple international partners followed.
Human Violins Prelude, a new immersive legacy
The VR experience “Human Violins: Prelude” explores the transformative power of music in devastating moments. The fictional project is inspired by one of the most heartbreaking real facts in the history of humanity. During the Holocaust, many Jews were allowed to choose only one object before being brought to the camps and some of them chose their violin. We follow the fictionalized story of Alma, a 15-years-old violin lover inhabiting a world of terror. Through music, she can liberate herself. The user is offered the chance to play and take the legacy of her music further. The groundbreaking interactive playable architecture allows the user to transform the claustrophobic wires into sublime instruments.
“We aimed to reveal a universal story that may awaken our collective consciousness. Our higher dream was to invent a new immersive language. Everything is made of an endless violin chord multiplied ad infinitum. The musical chord resembles an umbilical cord. We struggled to reveal a “musical architecture”, a form of spatiality that emanates sounds and rhythm when touched, to remind ourselves that everything is filled with creative energy.” confessed Ioana Mischie, the writer, director and majority producer of the project.
The Fipadoc Smart Award: Acknowledging Emotional Narratives
Most recently, “Human Violins Prelude” received the Fipadoc Smart Award, considered the Grand Prix of the Immersive Section in Fipadoc festival, hosted in Biarritz, France. The motivation of the jury included the following note:
“A violin string becomes barbed wire, giving life to a vibrant and poignant work. Its aesthetic, both minimalist and rich, stands out with its originality. The depth of the light intensifies the emotional weight of the narrative. This creation powerfully highlights the importance of art, and especially music, in our lives—how it touches us, elevates us, and soothes us.”
Andrés Jarach, who led the Immersive department at FIPADOC, supported a selection of 15 groundbreaking immersive works, in order to reveal diverse facets of immersive documentaries. The festival included as well public events such as a roundtable reuniting numerous interactive creators debating the future(s) of depicting conflict and peace in storytelling.
“The entire transformative festival hosted in Biarritz was an immense epiphany for our journey. It allowed us to continue the project in unprecedented manners, to debate meaningful topics and to initiate new powerful creative paths currently in the works. In many ways, we felt we inhabited an authentic Paradise dedicated to creativity worldwide.” mentioned Ioana Mischie after the event.
The prestigious European XR Award: Excellency in Art Direction
Towards the end of 2024, “Human Violins Prelude”, received one of the most prestigious distinctions of the European XR Awards: Best Art Direction offered by Stereopsia Festival 2024. The motivation of the jury was released during the ceremony:
“Great art direction is the heart and soul of any XR experience. It doesn't just shape experiences - it transforms them, infusing depth and beauty that linger in our hearts long after the credits roll. Tonight, we are privileged to honor a project that not only masters this craft but transcends it, showcasing the universal power of music to heal, transform, and endure. (...) Music stands as a beacon of survival and strength. It is both testimony and transformation, turning pain into resilience, despair into hope, and silence into strength. "Human Violins" exemplifies this truth, honoring the story of Alma, a violin lover whose journey transforms music into a lifeline and a poignant symphony of survival.
On a personal note, as the WIIT Europe Community Manager, it is a profound honor to present this award. This project is especially meaningful for WIIT, having been supported in 2022 as one of the winners of the “Creative Catalyst Campaign”. Witnessing the results of such vital initiatives is deeply inspiring, but being here to present this award is an extraordinary privilege. It reminds us that, like music, creativity and collaboration have the power to make a lasting impact on our lives and our world.
The “Best Art Direction” award goes to "Human Violins" by Ioana Mischie, a one-of-a-kind VR experience that explores the resilience of the human spirit through the transformative power of music in the darkest of times. This project is more than a visual achievement - it is a heartfelt tribute to music’s profound ability to transform even the bleakest moments into light. Congratulations to Ioana Mischie and the talented team behind "Human Violins" for creating an experience that truly transforms and touches hearts, just as music does every day.” detailed Isabel de Peuten Rutten, jury member and Women In Immersive Technologies, during the closing ceremony.
The XR Must Award: Audience’s Votes and Reactions
Not only international juries, but also public votes granted “Human Violins Prelude” one of the Medals for the “Best Story/Narrative” at the XR Must Awards. The project was nominated in multiple categories.
Audiences across festivals have contributed with notes and personal stories in the memory notebook of the project, considering the journey “magical”, “inspiring” or “incredibly touching”.
Apart of the support received from the European continent, the project received recognition from South America, earning the trophy of Guadalajara IFF and multiple other worldwide selections.
“Even if we have managed to grow this soul project into a multi-layered immersive world, the original idea of the piece emerged seven years ago during my Fulbright scholarship and I have started to develop this project extensively after giving birth, while having sever anemia, in a time of profound physical pain. To me personally it is a symbol of radical creativity in challenging times. “The idea is not to live forever, but to create something that will” said once Andy Warhol and in many ways we still deeply believe in this. Art, regardless of its format, is a manner to preserve and augment humanity’s essence. Our goal was to launch a form of VR legacy that can be felt and cherished by audiences across a multitude of cultures, nationalities in search of a unifying home.” mentioned Ioana Mischie, the Romanian-based artist considered at the moment at the forefront of international immersive art.
The Creative Team Constellation
The project brings together international interactive professionals, some of Romania’s and France’s most innovative talents at the moment. The project is produced by STORYSCAPES (Romania) - Ioana Mischie and DA PROD (France) - Jeremy Sahel. The protagonist's voice is signed by the talented actress Cabiria Morgenstern. The unique visual direction is chosen by Alexandru Pop, the interactive design and original music are developed by Adrian Tăbăcaru, the interactive animations are brought to life by Benoit Arbelot, Julie Vie, Antoine Pasquerault, Marguerite Tricaud, the immersive sound design elements are signed by Pierre-Marie Blind and facilitated by Irina Bozdog, the violin music is performed by Raluca Stratulat and Electra Drossos. The UX design is carried out in consultation with Allison Crank, a researcher in the immersive field. The project benefited from the mentorship of exceptional professionals such as Astrid Kahmke, Michel Reilhac, Elie Levasseur and many others. The writing and directing are signed by Ioana Mischie.
“Human Violins Prelude” was supported by AFCN (Administratia Fondului Cultural National) at first, while attracting gradually the French CNC, Region Alpes regional funding, Pictanovo regional funding along with the award offered by Women in Immersive Technologies via the “Creative Catalyst program” sponsored by Meta. The project was developed in the prestigious, Venice Biennale College Cinema and pitched in Torino XR.
Most works can be followed in the festival circuit by the end of 2025. The VR team is currently taking the needed steps to adapt the projects for the wireless headsets.
Ioana Mischie is a Romanian-based pioneer, transmedia artist and futurist, multi-awarded for film, VR and innovative concepts. Fulbright Grantee Alumna of USC School of Cinematic Arts and Alumna of UNATC, advanced the transmedia storytelling field as part of her doctoral study thesis completed with Summa Cum Laude. Her cinematic projects as writer/director have traveled to more than 250 festivals worldwide (Cannes IFF, Venice Biennale IFF, Thessaloniki IFF), developed in advanced international programs (Biennale College Cinema VR, Berlinale Talents, Sundance Workshop) or awarded by The Webby Awards, South by Southwest Hackathon, Stereopsia, GoEast, European XR Awards. Among her recent original transmedia franchises, Government of Children and Tangible Utopias (3D film, web, XR) are empowering children to see themselves as leaders and to redesign their society. Prior to embracing immersive media, she has successfully collaborated as a writer/director with Channel 4 in the UK (for two doc webseries with a record of views in the UK) and with the Oscars-awarded Legende Films (for the short fiction 237 Years). Her short film, Cumulonimbus, was selected by Gus Van Sant as a finalist of the Coppola Shorts out of 5000 global entries. Co-founder and Head of Storyscapes, an NGO focusing on transmedia storytelling and expanded narratives initiated in 2012. While in endless love with sharing good practices and collaborative learning, Ioana is a lecturer at UNATC and a former speaker at TEDxBucharest Women Bold and Brilliant. Envisioning the world as a neo-creative playground, she deeply believes that storytellers are "the architects of the future" (Buckminster Fuller).
