The Future of StoryTelling is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2016 FoST Prize Jury Award and the inaugural FoST Prize People’s Choice Award. 

Launched in 2014 by FoST and Time Warner, the FoST Prize is a global competition designed to recognize the most exceptional interactive story of the year, which may include virtual and augmented reality projects, web-based films, data-driven projects, mobile apps, narrative games, multimedia installations, and other multiplatform projects.

More than 300 projects were submitted this year, and after a lengthy deliberation by a panel of FoST judges, three finalists for the Jury Award and 20 finalists for the People’s Choice Award were selected. 

The three Jury Award finalists were invited to attend this year’s FoST Summit on October 5th and 6th and present their work in the Story Arcade, a curated exhibition of the latest and greatest in interactive storytelling projects and technologies. The $10,000 grand prize winner was announced from the FoST main stage by Time Warner’s Lisa Garcia Quiroz and went to Home: A VR Spacewalk. Produced by BBC R&D and Rewind, Home is a virtual-reality experience that throws viewers into the void 250 miles above Earth in a virtual reality spacewalk inspired by NASA's training program and the astonishing experiences of its astronauts. On their mission, they contend with the challenges of this alien environment and face an emergency that sees them trying to jetpack home to the space station. 

The FoST Prize People’s Choice award debuted this year as part of the inaugural Future of StoryTelling Festival (FoST FEST). The 20 finalists were invited to attend the festival and display their projects in the main exhibition space, the FoST Playground, and voting was open to the public at large via the FoST website and App. After tallying the votes, the $10,000 grand prize was announced on the last night of the FEST went to Across the Line. Created by Nony de la Peña, Brad Lichtenstein, and Jeff Fitzsimmons and produced by Planned Parenthood, the project is an immersive VR experience that combines 360° video and computer-generated imaging, to put viewers in the shoes of a patient entering a health center for a safe and legal abortion. 

Congratulations to both of this year’s winners!