Dome Fest West

The US's only dedicated fulldome industry conference & film festival. Coming to the Fiske Planetarium April 21-25, 2027.

Dome Fest West is an immersive Dome film festival and conference scheduled for May 2-5, 2024, in Boulder, Colorado. What better way to share immersive experiences than within the Dome space? It's becoming increasingly clear that Dome content isn't just for planetariums or science centers anymore! As more Dome venues come online in 2023, audiences will have a new way to watch world-class immersive content, all without requiring a VR headset. You can now surround yourself with familiar formats in a brand new way and be amazed at the technology that has helped bring new stories to life.

09/02/2026

🏆 Best Environmental Film: Minam River Wildlife Area

This environmental fulldome work, shot in one of Oregon's last wild places, won the 2026 Best Environmental Film Award at Dome Fest West. It does what hiking the place itself does: it changes your sense of scale.

From the filmmaker's presentation on stage to the moment an audience member leans back and the forest canopy fills the dome above them, this is how immersive storytelling lands. Planetarium programmers interested in this title can connect with the production team through Dome Fest West.

Directed by Thomas Hayden. Produced by Matt Rowell of 360 Labs.

09/01/2026

Domecasting is already happening, and the people doing it are joining us live on September 10 to talk about how.

Join Ryan Moore and guests Dan Tell, David Weigel, Brittany Kundert, and Melinda Orms for the next Fulldome Forum: Using Domecasting to Expand Your Reach. We are digging into the technical realities, the production challenges, and the real audience development strategies that are actually working right now.

September 10 at 9 AM PDT / 12 PM EDT / 5 PM BST / 6 PM CEST

Register at the link below and come ready to learn from people who have done this for real. https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/9017599685736/WN_QXIH4fUPTheNSR7JUzap8A

08/31/2026

This spring at DFW26, creators and industry pros gathered on stages and in dome light to talk story, technique, and what comes next. The energy was real: conversations that matter, panels that changed how people think about the work.

If that's the community you want to be part of, the Regular submission window for DFW27 is still open through October 16. Submit your work at domefestwest.com.

08/28/2026

⏰ TODAY is the Earlybird deadline for DFW27 submissions.

After today, regular submission fees apply (Regular deadline: October 16 | Late: December 4 | Final: January 8).

DFW27 is where US planetarium directors and venue programmers come to discover and license fulldome content. Your film gets in front of the buyers who actually program dome venues across the country. Submit at domefestwest.com.

08/26/2026

🏆 Best Science Film 2026: REMIXED: The Unexpected Side of Science

At Dome Fest West, the filmmakers took the stage to discuss their work with the industry: science storytelling that treats audiences as curious adults, not students. REMIXED won by trusting the dome's power to carry wonder without a lecture.

Swipe to see the work in the dome itself.

Directed by Danielle LeBlanc. Produced by Dope Labs Podcast and Museum of Science, Boston

08/25/2026

⏰ 72 hours left on the Earlybird rate for DFW27 submissions.

The window closes Friday, August 28, at midnight Pacific. After that, Regular submission fees apply. If your fulldome film is ready, now is the time.

Submit at domefestwest.com.

08/24/2026

The deals happen in the hallways.

That's what DFW26 showed us. Creators and planetarians and vendors and filmmakers in one room: trading ideas, watching films together, building partnerships that carry forward all year.

If you made a fulldome film, DFW27 is where it needs to be seen by the people who program it. Earlybird closes Friday. Submit at domefestwest.com. Earlybird rates end then.

08/21/2026

🎙 Forum Friday: What Fulldome Festivals Actually Do for a Career.

This month's forum panel, Scott Berman, Kael Alden, Klara Juzova, and Ben Stern, shared what showing up to festivals actually changes: connections, trust from programmers, and in Berman's case, a dome built on Rick Rubin's lawn for Neil Young's 80th birthday, after he missed the submission deadline and came anyway.

"Every festival that I've been to has had an actionable result afterwards."

Read the recap: domefestwest.com/post/fulldome-festivals-career-catalyst
Watch the full panel: https://youtu.be/j9axW8kx3os

08/20/2026

🌟 Sponsor Spotlight: Boulder County Film Commission

Since 1985, the Commission has helped productions of every kind find crew, navigate permitting, and put Boulder County on screen. Newly accredited with the Association of Film Commissioners International as of this January. DFW is proud to call them a sponsor and a neighbor.

08/19/2026

🏆 Best Educational Film: Life: The Greatest Story (Science at Life) 2026 Dome Fest West winner.

There's a specific kind of magic that happens when you watch educational content unfold inside a fulldome. At Fiske Planetarium during DFW26, audiences experienced Life: The Greatest Story across the curved screen: forests, neighborhoods, the scale of space itself, all around them. This is the work that respects its audience enough to be both rigorous and beautiful.

It's the kind of film that will play in planetariums for decades. https://www.life.org.uk/whats-on/event/life-the-greatest-story-360-immersive-dome-show/

Directed by Tommy Howell. Produced by Ben Rutherford-Orrock and Elin Roberts.

Address

Los Angeles, CA
90017

Website

http://DomeFestWest.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Dome Fest West posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Want your business to be the top-listed Event/venue in Los Angeles?