Cultural Blindspot is a digital platform focused on films that exist between mainstream streaming services and highly niche archives—hidden cinematic gems that are often difficult to discover or access. Developed in collaboration with Vega Scene and Cinemateket, the platform creates a community-driven way to revive overlooked cinema. Users can explore curated film selections, and vote for films they want screened in independent cinemas. Once a film reaches 100 votes, a public screening is organised at participating venues. The project combines cultural accessibility, audience participation, and digital interaction to strengthen connections between independent cinemas and film enthusiasts.

The project began after weeks of researching film rights and distribution systems. During this process, I repeatedly encountered the same issue: thousands of remarkable films exist in a kind of limbo. They are not available on streaming platforms, yet they are not entirely lost either — they remain inaccessible due to complicated rights structures and limited distribution. This discovery became the foundation for Cultural Blindspot: a platform designed to reconnect audiences with overlooked cinema and give independent films a second life through collective audience demand.

To better understand the landscape, I conducted interviews with nine individuals, six of whom worked within the film industry. These conversations helped establish the framework for the project and informed its direction moving forward.

The process initially focused on research into film rights, distribution, and the visibility of independent cinema. As an interaction designer, I explored how discovery and participation could be translated into a digital experience. Before moving into digital development, I began by sketching physical concepts and mapping out early ideas and interaction flows.

From there, I developed prototypes centred around curation and collective voting systems. Through continuous dialogue, testing, and feedback from Vega Scene and Cinemateket, the project gradually evolved beyond a purely digital platform into a concept that also connects audiences with physical cinema screenings.Throughout the process, I continuously tested different interaction flows and prototypes to better understand how users navigated discovery, curation, and participation. Early testing revealed that passive browsing alone was not engaging enough, which led me to explore more collective and interactive features such as voting and audience-driven screening requests.

I also iterated on the platform’s structure and visual hierarchy to create an experience that felt less like a conventional streaming service and more like an archive of hidden cinematic gems. Through ongoing feedback, testing, and collaboration, Cultural Blindspot ultimately developed into a system that bridges digital interaction with physical cinema culture, encouraging audiences to actively participate in bringing overlooked films back to the big screen.