SONA POP UP
at Three Rivers Film Festival
This November, SONA joins the Three Rivers Film Festival with an exhibit of
seven immersive VR films at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Arts Education Center.
Friday 13 November, 5pm to 9pm
Saturday 14 November, 11am to 9pm
Heading to other festival screenings? Use code SONA26 for $3 off tickets.
This is the first in a series of SONA pop up exhibits leading to our full festival return in 2028. Stay tuned to see where we’re going next.
What's next for SONA
2026 was our biggest year yet. We welcomed more than 500 visitors, filled every viewing slot, expanded the number of experiences and prize categories, and worked with more creators and artists than ever before.
This coming year, we've been invited to bring SONA to festivals, venues, and events beyond CMU. So we've decided to take work further afield, meet new audiences, enjoy some chance encounters, share our passion for immersive storytelling, with the full festival set to return
in 2028.
You'll see SONA popping up in different venues around Pittsburgh and beyond over the coming months, with plenty of opportunities for creators to show their work and reach new audiences.
We are ever indebted to our community of creators and artists. Their work is the pumping heart of SONA, and our respect and love for them runs deep. Thank you for everything you've brought to the festival, and for your continued support.
Keep an eye on this space for news and events, and subscribe to our newsletter to stay close to what's coming.
If you make immersive work, run a festival or venue, produce for the screen, or simply love where this medium is going, get in touch.
Sona: Immersive Storytelling Festival
Hosted by The Kenner Room in the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics at Carnegie Mellon University, SONA is a forward-thinking festival that highlights the work of filmmakers, artists, and creators in XR, 360° video, and interactive media. Taking place annually in April at Carnegie Mellon University, the festival offers a platform for diverse voices and groundbreaking stories that redefine the boundaries of storytelling and technology.
Our Festival Director Stephan Caspar writes about immersive storytelling and the work of the 2026 festival in a new essay for the Pittsburgh Review of Books. Read it here.
Thank you
to our friends and partners
