Infinity Festival Returns To Hollywood With Sony Pictures Imageworks Execs Set As Event Co-Chairs

Infinity Festival will hold its seventh annual edition, combining art, technology and entertainment in a return to 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 co-chairs of the festival. Deadline is a presenting media sponsor of the event, which will take place at The Aster and Avalon Hollywood.

The festival has focused on the intersection of Hollywood and Silicon Valley, with programming exploring immersive technology, virtual production, 5G, remote collaboration, Web3, Cloud and other topics. AI has also been a central programming theme and will be again in 2024.

Also in the works for this year’s edition are a “Student Lab” programming track, in collaboration with USC, UCLA, Emerson College, The Los Angeles Film School, Otis College, Gnomon, Chapman University, LMU, University of Texas, CSUN, UCI and other institutions to be announced. The fest will also be home to the SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit and Leadership Awards, hosted by Women in Technology: Hollywood Foundation. The Start-Up Exhibition Pavilion will highlights emerging companies, and gaming and immersive exhibitions will feature breakthroughs in technology and interactive entertainment with a focus on AI.

The 2024 speaker lineup is being finalized and will be announced soon, organizers said. Past speakers at Infinity Festival have included director Gareth Edwards, filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, actor-producer Brie Larson actor-producer Joseph Gordon-Levitt, media personality Van Jones, director Elijah Allan-Blitz (The Messy Truth in VR) and new media artist Refik Anadol.

“We are thrilled to bring Infinity Festival back with an incredible lineup of sponsors, programming, experiential branding and more,” said founder and CEO Mark Lieber and Adam Newman, Chief Creative Officer, of Infinity Festival, in an announcement. “The addition of industry leaders like Mike Ford and Mandy Tankenson as our festival co-chairs underscores our commitment to pushing the boundaries of innovation in entertainment, as well as re-teaming with leaders in high-performance AI workstations and solutions with Z by HP, NVIDIA and Intel. Since the inception of Infinity Festival, they all have played a pivotal role, influencing our themes and programming. Their ongoing partnership underscores our commitment to innovation and excellence in the realms of AI and technology, making 2024 our most dynamic and engaging event yet.” 

Ford and Tankenson said in a joint statement, “Creating, innovating and entertaining is at the core of everything we do at Imageworks. We are honored to co-chair Infinity Festival 2024 and look forward to bringing together some of today’s most exciting storytellers and technologists who push boundaries and make the impossible possible.” 

Production Resource Group, which has worked across the technology and production sectors, is contributing its services to the festival, allowing attendees to experience a range of industry advancements.

“We see the best events being treated as highly sophisticated televised productions with great content, high-quality production resources and innovation powering deep engagement. The addition of real-time interactive moments ensures that the most precious commodity, attention, stays with the programming. Our approach to Infinity Festival weaves these elements together,” said Jeroen Hallaert, Vice President Production Services. “We’re honored to work with the festival to bring the attendee experience to an unprecedented level.”