Director's Bio-Filmography:
Francesca Panetta - Executive Producer
Francesca Panetta is a multi-award winning digital artist and journalist. She leads the Guardian’s
virtual reality studio. 6x9: a virtual experience of solitary confinement was the Guardian’s first VR
piece and won attention around the world as an exemplary case of story and form. The piece has
toured 70 festivals and conferences including the White House, and used by campaigners and
mitigation specialists in the US to show the psychological damage caused by isolation. Since then
Francesca has also directed Arctic 360 (premiered at IDFA) and First Impressions (premiered at
Sheffield DocFest). Francesca’s work at the Guardian has focused on innovation and storytelling. As
special projects editor she commissioned and directed flagship pieces such as Firestorm, The Shirt on
Your Back, the View from the Shard, The First World War: an interactive multilingual interactive
documentary. In addition to her work at the Guardian, Francesca works as a sound artist specialising
in binaural sound design and non-linear storytelling, usually in physical landscapes
Director's / Curator's Statement:
Arctic 360: discover a disappearing landscape