Kiira Benz

KIIRA

KIIRA

ABOUT

Kiira Benz is an award-winning multidimensional director, producer and creative pioneer working at the intersection of immersive storytelling, XR theatre, live entertainment, and virtual production. She is the Founder and Creative Director of Double Eye Studios, dedicated to designing groundbreaking immersive experiences that bridge technology and live performance. She hosts the Podcast Portal to the Next Stage.

Her work has premiered and won awards at many of the most prestigious festivals in the world. Selected credits: Finding Pandora X received the award for Best VR Immersive User Experience at the Venice Film Festival (2020), while Runnin’, filmed on the world’s largest volumetric capture stage at Intel Studios and starring Reggie Watts, won the SXSW Jury Award for Best Interactive. Other projects include Loveseat (Venice International Film Festival), territory (the first VR experience presented at Jacob’s Pillow in the Grand opening of the Doris Duke Theater), and Cardboard City, a 360° VR short film that won Samsung’s first VR contest in 2016.

Across her career, Kiira has consistently been at the forefront of innovation, achieving numerous “firsts” in the XR field. She directed the first AR documentary, founded the first VR Theatre Repertory Company, the first VR Theatre production to win at an A-List festival, the first VR Variety Comedy Show, the first VRChat experiences to premiere at A List festivals, and the first PCVR experience to integrate Meta Haptics. She has expanded the possibilities of live performance in virtual spaces for the XR Theatre industry. Her productions often combine worldbuilding, interactivity, and theatricality, inviting audiences into shared spaces that challenge the boundaries between art forms.

In addition to her directing work, Kiira regularly speaks on panels at institutions such as Cannes, SXSW, Film Independent, AWE, SIGGRAPH, Immerse Global Summit, VR Days, Unity for Humanity, Games for Change, NYU, Free the Work and more.

She has been a Consultant for major marketing and technology companies such as Meta, HP, BOSE, First Ave Machine and more that are exploring new technologies and led workshops introducing executives to XR.

At the heart of her work is a belief in the transformative power of storytelling and the sacredness of human connection. She is deeply interested in multidisciplinary subjects including science, philosophy, and technology, and she brings these influences into her creative process. Through Double Eye Studios and her collaborations with artists, technologists, and performers, Kiira continues to shape the future of immersive media while building experiences that are bold, participatory, and human at their core.