04 Dec 2025
The Academy of Film and Creative Technology at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) will host the 5th MEGA International Creative Media Festival on 18 December 2025 at the University’s Taicang campus. This year’s edition centres on the theme “Immersion”, exploring how immersive media is reshaping narrative expression, spatial experience and creative production. The festival also marks MEGA’s return to campus, taking place for the first time inside the Academy’s newly launched Immersive Dome Cinema.
The Immersive Dome Cinema, located at XJTLU’s Taicang campus, is the first of its kind in global higher education to integrate industry collaboration, research, teaching and creative practice within a single immersive environment. Its 338.5-square-metre LED self-luminous dome is equipped with an 18-metre diameter and an 8K-resolution display system, offering a 110° × 180° field of view alongside an immersive panoramic soundscape. Delivering exceptional brightness, contrast and visual consistency, the facility forms a core component of the University’s Future Learning Spaces strategy, supporting applications in data visualisation, engineering simulation, digital arts, future scenario modelling and multidisciplinary teaching.
Since its inception, the MEGA International Creative Media Festival has become a flagship annual event at XJTLU, fostering global exchange across film production, digital media arts and creative technologies. Built around its core pillars—Media, Exhibition, Graphics, and Arts—the festival brings together researchers, industry experts, and emerging creators through screenings, competitions, a summit, and industry engagement activities, opening a dialogue on the future of creative media.
This year’s MEGA introduces two new competition categories—AIGC (AI-Generated Content) and Short Video—encouraging exploration of AI-driven creative workflows and rapidly evolving visual languages. The call for submissions concluded with a record 1,384 entries from 14 countries and regions, a 67 per cent increase from last year. Submissions came from leading global institutions such as the Communication University of China, Beijing Film Academy, Shanghai Theatre Academy, Royal College of Art, University of the Arts London and New York University, as well as 14 professional organisations including Chongqing Sandao Films and NetEase Games—demonstrating MEGA’s expanding influence across academia and industry.
The 5th Film, New Media and Creative Technology Summit will also take place on 18 December at XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang). Centred on the theme “Immersive Future: Scene Revolution and Value Innovation Driven by Immersive Media”, the summit will explore the sub-topic “Immersive Media: Reconstructing Spatial Media Experiences”. Experts, scholars, and creative practitioners from universities, industry, and innovation institutions will examine how immersive technologies are shaping content presentation, spatial experiences, scenario construction, and the future creative industries.
The 5th MEGA International Creative Media Festival, in conjunction with the launch of the Immersive Dome Cinema, will provide an international platform for showcasing innovative technologies, artistic expression, and future-oriented educational practices. The event will further strengthen XJTLU’s global standing in digital media arts, immersive technology and the development of next-generation learning environments.
By Wenzhen Li
04 Dec 2025