XR and immersive technologies took centre stage as the 20th edition of the m:brane network and financing forum for youth and children’s content unspooled its annual industry conference on Tuesday in Malmö, Sweden. We sat down with the forum’s vivacious creative director, Annette Brejner, for some take-aways and a brief assessment of her two decades on board, and steering, this vessel. Quite organically, the subject veered towards science.

Cineuropa: VR, XR, AI, gaming, domes, planetariums and, not least, immersive have been some highly reoccurring expressions and themes at this year’s conference. What are your thoughts on bringing these formats to the forefront?
Annette Brejner: The roots can be found in what we like to call a “non-didactic” universe, and the delivery of science and science research to young people, some of whom are avid gamers – which is seen as very positive here, in terms of the way their brains are wired and the experience they bring, demonstrating what a community can achieve when everyone works together to reach a common goal. So, it became quite an obvious choice to investigate these new technologies. A relevant case in point from today’s programme is Cell Worlds, Renaud Pourpre’s documentary and exhibition that depicts what we cannot see with the naked eye in a truly immersive – and truly infinite – manner. To me, the notions of science and young audiences go hand in hand. They’re savvy, they’re intelligent, and they vastly surpass us when it comes to decoding motion pictures.

In this year's m:brane catalogue, you highlight a quote from Carl Sagan: “The world is telling us its story, and scientists are the ones who are listening.” The notion of science seems to be a most vital ingredient at the centre of the DNA and operations of m:brane. Can you elaborate on this?
I’ve felt, quite organically, that this field is a most exciting one for us to delve into, for there is so much here that is yet to be explored and the potential is immense, as is the need for it in this world. We aim to be a hub in the establishment of a concrete pipeline that fine-tunes these themes, through contact with universities, conducting workshops with scientists, and inviting media producers and creators and gaming entrepreneurs. We aim to become highly sophisticated in order to achieve our goals, speak to the young generation of today and create, if you will, a new infrastructure. We feel we have some of the best expertise on board for this purpose.

Today, we’ve seen an illustrious group of speakers, presenters, creators, curators, entrepreneurs and experts take to the stage. How did you find them, or they you?
You’re right: sometimes it’s us, sometimes it’s them. Björn Flintberg, head of Gaming at RISE [Research Institutes of Sweden], I found right here while attending a presentation at Game Habitat in Malmö. Several of the filmmakers, including Renaud Pourpre and Costanza Julia Bani, I became aware of through Christine Reisen from the European Science Film Association, who also brought the dome themes to the table, not least in the guise of the highly entertaining Micky Remann, from the International Jena FullDome Festival. Iris Magdalene Schmidt, who makes films using AI, did an intriguing presentation at last year’s Nordisk Panorama.

We’ve crossed paths with the Canadian group of players and creators in Berlin, in Austria and in Hungary, where they’ve become friends of ours, and they, in turn, brought along some more friends, sharing similar qualities and missions. Canada is truly at the global forefront here, in my opinion. Several knew of m:brane and our missions already beforehand, and offered suggestions and ideas as to what topics to focus on, including a forthcoming collaboration with NUMIX LAB in Montreal, which will be here in Malmö in 2027. It’s all fallen into place beautifully.

It seems the m:brane name is getting increasingly noticed internationally. Any suggestions as to why that might be?
We seem to be increasingly regarded as a respected platform within what we do. Lennart Ström, our manager, is a great force in networking and bringing our name out into the world, while I will explore that network and design the content. From this, more constructive dialogues will emanate. It’s all very fruitful.

You’ve just completed your 20th conference as creative director at m:brane. Any brief thoughts on the editions over the years?
Every year takes a lot of commitment and requires a period of recharging afterwards. Then, the ideas start coming to me, quite soon at that, and then, the designing starts all over again. I wouldn’t say that it just flows together; rather, it’s like a string of pearls – I think that would be an appropriate analogy.