The 66th Annual Flaherty Film Seminar
When The Flaherty wanted to shift its annual Film Seminar into a virtual event, they turned to Empire Entertainment to deliver a highly interactive, user-friendly platform to feature this year's films and discussions.
The 10-day film seminar took place July 9 - 18, 2021 and featured over 43 films, with filmmakers and attendees joining from 30+ countries and five continents. Programmed by Janaína Oliviera, the 66th edition of the Flaherty Film Seminar, Opacity, sought to forge openings and new possibilities of cinematic existence, especially for subjects that have been excluded or are less valued on conventional screens. The films and subsequent discussions dove deep on topics ranging from diasporic cinema and oral histories, to decolonizing the archive and indigenous storytelling and sovereignty.
On each day, The Flaherty hosted a morning and evening session with one film screening and discussion per session. All film content was revealed just minutes before the session began and subsequently removed at the end of each session to keep attendees on their toes throughout the week. In addition to the main programming, The Flaherty hosted supplementary breakout sessions and after hours programs via zoom where more attendees could dive deeper in smaller groups.
Empire’s scope of work included registration management, microsite design & development, and overall technical production.
Empire is a leading producer of virtual, hybrid and live events and has been proud to serve leading not-for-profit organizations and foundations for nearly three decades.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
