VCDRC Researchers Featured at Doc Edge Industry 2026
Researchers from the AUT Virtual Creative Design Research Centre (VCDRC) will play a prominent role in this year's Doc Edge Industry programme, contributing to discussions and workshops exploring the future of documentary in the age of artificial intelligence and immersive media. As New Zealand's leading documentary festival and an Academy Award®-qualifying event, Doc Edge provides an important forum for examining how emerging technologies are reshaping non-fiction storytelling.
On Monday 29 June (10.00am), Dafydd Sills-Jones will join the panel AI and Documentary Filmmaking, drawing on themes developed in the recently published Documentary in the Age of AI (Peter Lang), which examines the creative, ethical and aesthetic implications of artificial intelligence for documentary practice. Later that afternoon (3.30pm), Zohreh Shirazi will lead a practical workshop on AI filmmaking, exploring emerging tools and workflows for creative production. On Wednesday 1 July (2.30pm), Gregory Bennett will participate in a panel examining the relationship between extended reality (XR) and documentary, discussing how immersive technologies are expanding the possibilities of factual storytelling.
Together, these presentations highlight VCDRC's growing international research profile in AI, virtual production and immersive media, demonstrating the Centre's commitment to advancing critical and practice-led research at the forefront of contemporary screen production.
