Boulder festival welcomed 480 attendees for four days of curated fulldome cinema and unprecedented business activity on the Expo floor.
BOULDER, CO, UNITED STATES, April 30, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Dome Fest West 2026 concluded its fifth annual fulldome film festival and industry gathering this past weekend, closing a festival defined by strong business activity, high-quality screenings, and meaningful industry connections. Over four days, April 23–26, at Fiske Planetarium and the Boulder Marriott, the festival met its attendance goals while convening filmmakers, planetarium professionals, programmers, and technology innovators under the 2026 theme of New Dimensions.
What the festival may have traded in public scale, it more than recouped in industry impact. The Fulldome Forward Expo produced more business activity than any previous year, with attendees negotiating distribution deals and scheduling directly with filmmakers and content providers. Dome Fest West 2026 is increasingly recognized not just as a film festival, but as a central deal-making hub for the fulldome industry.
“This fifth year was something special,” said Ryan Moore, Executive Director of Dome Fest West. “We made a deliberate choice to create a more focused, industry-forward event, and the result was the most productive Expo floor we’ve ever had. More business was conducted than at any festival in our history, including licensing, distribution, and co-production partnerships. We are becoming the place where this industry’s next season gets built. At the same time, we screened 38 extraordinary films in one of the finest fulldome environments anywhere in the world, and we are deeply grateful to the team at Fiske Planetarium for their commitment to this event.”
38 Films. Nine Blocks. Four Unforgettable Days.
Dome Fest West 2026 presented 38 fulldome films across nine thematic programming blocks, showcasing the current state of immersive cinema. Opening Night on Thursday, April 23 featured the Pedro Pascal-narrated Encounters in the Milky Way alongside Edge of the Sky from the award-winning Czech team at Brno Observatory and Planetarium. Sunday’s closing blocks were anchored by Laura Inserra’s artistic feature Qualia and Ondrej Kamenský’s visually striking Unseen Earth, demonstrating the breadth of fulldome storytelling.
Family audiences were highlighted in the Saturday morning block, featuring Voyage of the Stars and Tsuguyasu Uchiyama’s Dinosaurs Under the Northern Lights. Friday evening brought James Hood’s Astronomica to Fiske’s 8K SSIA SkySkan system, pairing orchestral music with immersive visuals and drawing one of the weekend’s strongest responses. Screenings included post-film Q&A sessions with directors and producers, offering valuable interaction for both industry professionals and audiences.
Keynote Conversations
Two keynote conversations anchored the festival’s professional program. On Friday, Jay Rinsky delivered the opening industry keynote, setting the stage for the Expo with a forward-looking perspective on the fulldome medium. On Sunday, adventure filmmaker Phil Streather delivered the closing keynote, reflecting on exploration, immersive storytelling, and bringing remote environments into the dome.
Fulldome Forward Expo: A Record Year for Industry Business
The Fulldome Forward Expo at the Boulder Marriott ran Thursday and Friday alongside structured professional programming. Venue operators, programmers, filmmakers, distributors, and technology providers came prepared to make decisions and close deals. By every measure, more business was conducted on the Expo floor than at any previous festival. The event also recorded a record number of sponsors and its highest concentration of institutional attendees, with representatives from planetariums and dome venues across the country sourcing content and building partnerships.
Saturday Night Laser Fantasy
Saturday Night Laser Fantasy on April 25 delivered a curated program blending globally recognized laser productions with original work from local artists. Midway through the show, the audience could not stay seated, and what began as a packed screening turned into an impromptu dance party that filled the planetarium floor with spontaneous energy.
Dome Fest West Film Festival Awards
The Dome Fest West Film Festival Awards ceremony on Sunday, April 26 recognized excellence across the 2026 program. This year’s honorees, selected by the festival jury:
2026 Sphere of Light — Space Explorers: The ISS Experience – Episode 1 ADAPT
2026 DFW Lifetime Achievement Award — Carter Emmart
2026 Audience Choice — Qualia
2026 Best Artistic Feature Film — Resolution: A Cinephonic Rhapsody for the Soul
2026 Best Artistic Short Film — UP
2026 Best Musical Feature Film — Kael Alden “Space and Time”
2026 Best Musical Short Film — The Rift
2026 Best Educational Film — Life: The Greatest Story
2026 Best Science Film — REMIXED: The Unexpected Side of Science
2026 Best Environmental Film — Minam River Wildlife Area
2026 Best Children’s Film — Little Eve: Stories of Planet Earth
2026 Best Narrative Film — Edge of the Sky
2026 Best Interactive Experience — The Pleasure Machine
2026 Best Live Experience — LUMINESCENCE
2026 Juror’s Choice Award — Qualia
A special note: Qualia, Laura Inserra’s 48-minute feature, made history as the first film at Dome Fest West to win both the Juror’s Choice Award and the Audience Choice Award in the same year, reflecting its rare ability to resonate with both critics and audiences.
Looking Ahead to 2027
Dome Fest West 2027 is scheduled for April 21–25, 2027. Building on the momentum of 2026, the festival continues its commitment to serving both the fulldome creative community and the venue professionals who rely on it to shape their programming year. Details on submissions, programming, and registration will be announced at domefestwest.com.
About Dome Fest West
Dome Fest West is an annual fulldome film festival and industry gathering held each spring in Boulder, Colorado at Fiske Planetarium, University of Colorado Boulder. The festival presents curated fulldome cinema to public audiences while hosting the Fulldome Forward Expo, a professional conference connecting venue operators with filmmakers, distributors, and technology providers. Now in its fifth year, Dome Fest West has become a defining event in the global fulldome industry. For more information, visit domefestwest.com.
Ryan Moore
Dome Fest West
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