A stunning fulldome show exploring the story of life on Earth, written and produced in-house by Life has won a prestigious international award.
Life: The Greatest Story won the coveted Best Education Film Award at Dome Fest West 2026, held recently in Colorado in the United States. Dome Fest West is a key global immersive dome film festival and conference, that attracts hundreds of delegates each year.
The Life entry beat stiff competition, including the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Judges praised the film, saying it is “a remarkable achievement in immersive learning through outstanding craft, clarity and storytelling, making learning truly immersive, clear, engaging and beautifully crafted for audiences in the domes.”
The 360° immersive show explores Earth’s history, from the ocean’s earliest life forms through evolution, dinosaurs and extreme landscapes, before venturing into space to examine the big question of whether life exists elsewhere in the universe.
It is narrated by actor Alex Kingston, (Doctor Who and ER), and pushes the boundaries of fulldome film production, combining 3D animation with live action filming.
The show features contributions from local academic experts including Dr Jon Telling, Reader in Biogeochemistry and Dr David Rosario, Astrophysics Lecturer, both from Newcastle University; Dr Amanda Jones, Microbiologist at Northumbria University, and Professor Peter Vickers, Head of Philosophy at Durham University.
Another local twist in the show is the inclusion of alien life forms, created by North East children, Sophie Harris and Harrison Hardy (pictured below).
“This is a fantastic achievement. We are incredibly proud of our small in house team as they continue to push creative boundaries. The win is all the sweeter as we have taken the top spot from some huge organisations with teams many times larger than ours.”
The show was written, animated and directed by Digital Producer Tommy Howell and directed and produced by Head of Public Engagement Elin Roberts and former colleague, Ben Rutherford-Orrock.
Tommy, who used Dutch software Blender to help create the animation said: “Creating this show was a dream come true! I was really inspired by the writing of American astronomer and planetary scientist, Carl Sagan and I wanted to bring his hopeful tone and philosophy to a new audience in the 2020s.”
The show has also been shortlisted for an award at the Jena Full Dome Festival in Germany, in July, which is the largest festival of its kind in the world.