Circle's expansion into XR represents a major strategic evolution β positioning women and gender-expansive creators not as late adopters of emerging tech, but as architects of its creative future. Cizek's involvement signals serious pedigree.
This program fills a real gap. While mainstream VR and XR spaces remain heavily male-dominated, Circle has quietly built a global network of 200+ filmmakers across 50 countries since 2018. This partnership with Onassis ONX gives that community institutional backing they didn't have before.
The program runs Nov. 21β26 in Athens; application deadline is July 23, with interviews for shortlisted candidates in late August. Cizek co-founded the Co-Creation Studio at MIT Open Documentary Lab and won both Emmy and Peabody Awards for her documentary work.
This isn't just another incubator β it's a statement about who gets to shape immersive storytelling's next chapter. With Cizek's track record and Circle's global reach, the stakes are high. We'll be watching closely.
Circle, the training platform built specifically for women and gender-expansive filmmakers, is making its most ambitious move yet. The organization announced Monday that it has partnered with Onassis ONX β the Onassis Foundation's platform for art and advanced technologies operating out of Athens and New York β to launch "Circle Expanded Orbit," a new international program dedicated to immersive media, XR, mixed reality, VR, AR, AI, and game-based storytelling. The flagship initiative will take place November 21β26 in Athens, Greece, bringing together creators working across the full spectrum of emergent technologies.
Applications are now open to filmmakers, artists, and multidisciplinary storytellers β working individually or in pairs β with a July 23 deadline. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview in late August, making this a fast-moving timeline for those hoping to secure a spot. Leading the program's pedagogical and creative vision is Katerina Cizek, an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentarian who co-founded the Co-Creation Studio at MIT Open Documentary Lab, where she currently serves as artistic director.
In a statement, Cizek called the opportunity "an honor" and framed her mandate as one of expansion in every sense. "I am honored to join Circle, and to expand the orbit of remarkable creators into the myriad of creative and critical possibilities of emergent tech and media," Cizek said. "We are so honored to collaborate with Onassis ONX at this inaugural event, to bridge many worlds.
The learnings in our circle will flow in all directions, as women and gender-expansive creators too bring urgent and important perspectives to this field." For Biljana Tutorov, Circle's founder and program director, the launch represents years of groundwork crystallizing into something larger. Founded in 2018, Circle has worked with more than 200 filmmakers across over 50 countries β a global network that now finds itself plugged into Onassis ONX's institutional resources and international reach.
"As storytelling is being transformed by immersive and other emergent media, we want to ensure that women and gender-expansive creators are not just participating in that transformation, but leading it," Tutorov said. "With Circle Expanded Orbit, and with Kat Cizek guiding our pedagogical and creative vision, we are opening a new creative space β one where we can explore new media and technology in service of authors and where the future of our art can be imagined collectively." Prodromos Tsiavos, head of digital and innovation at the Onassis Foundation and Onassis ONX, emphasized that the partnership is fundamentally about access β connecting local creative practices to global networks while deliberately prioritizing creators who have historically been excluded from immersive tech spaces. "Supporting women and gender-expansive creators is essential to shaping a more inclusive and forward-looking field," Tsiavos said.
