Navid Khonsari is the co-founder of iNK Stories, a New York–based studio creating groundbreaking interactive and immersive work across games, VR/AR, and mixed reality. He helped establish the cinematic look and feel of landmark franchises including Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, Red Dead Revolver, The Warriors, and Resident Evil: Biohazard. At iNK Stories, Khonsari pioneered “Verité Games,” blending documentary and interactive storytelling. His BAFTA-winning 1979 Revolution: Black Friday was recognized by UNESCO as a digital solution for peaceful conflict resolution and named Facebook Game of the Year. Other acclaimed projects include HERO (a multisensory VR experience of civilian warfare in Syria), Blindfold, and Fire Escape. Khonsari’s latest project, Lili—a hybrid screenlife video game and live-action film presently in production—premiered at Cannes as the first video game in competition. Pushing boundaries, Lili utilizes AI on multiple fronts, from adaptive storytelling to gameplay systems, redefining the intersection of cinema, theater, and interactive media.
Learn more about his research here: Radical Storytelling with AI: Ethics, Authorship, and Experimentation through LILI