About

8GR8 Films | Story-Driven Science was founded by Manuel Stagars with a global talent network spanning award-winning film directors, media professionals, and interdisciplinary scientists. 8GR8 creates independent, non-commissioned documentary films about science and innovation that encourage audiences to think and act.

Films

Awards

Our documentaries have won awards and screened at international film festivals:

  • Chagrin Documentary Film Festival, Chagrin Falls
  • Golden Tree International Documentary Festival
  • SCINEMA, Australia
  • Fraude Film Festival, Amsterdam
  • Global Science Film Festival
  • International Innovation Film Festival, Berne
  • Winner Open Everything Film Festival, Vienna
  • Transitions Film Festival, Melbourne

Story-Driven Science

8GR8 developed Story-Driven Science to build bridges between academia, innovation, entrepreneurship, technology and entertainment media and make today’s complex topics easy to understand and share. We specialize in films and ancillary content like podcasts and interviews that focus on science and technologies with an awesome and lasting impact.

Our team has worked with the following academic institutes and distribution channels:

  • Santa Fe Institute
  • Australia's Science Channel
  • Tongji
  • HWZ
  • Singapore-ETH Centre
  • Fox
  • Paramount
  • King's College London
  • Universal Music Group
  • CBS
  • The Royal Institution of Australia
  • MTV
  • ETH
  • UCLA
  • Tohoku University
  • Swiss Radio and Television Network
  • Disney

Manuel Stagars

Award-winning Film Director, Explorer

Since 2005, Manuel is creating documentary films about innovation, creativity, science, technology, and their impact in society. His films have won numerous prizes and have screened all around the world. With 8GR8, Manuel pursues his vision to inspire conversations about a future that matters. 

www.manuelstagars.com

Iris Belle

Scientist, Producer

Iris holds a PhD in Geography from Heidelberg University and a Diploma in Architecture from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. She is producer and scientific advisor for 8GR8 projects with a worldwide academic network. Prior she was an Assistant Professor at Tongji University’s College of Architecture and Urban Planning in Shanghai, and during her post doctoral research, she was a module coordinator at the ETH Zurich and at the Future Cities Lab (FCL) in Singapore.