About IDFA DocLab
Every year, DocLab showcases a wide range of interactive and immersive documentary projects for audiences and industry professionals.
IDFA’s new media program DocLab has been exploring the art of interactive and immersive non-fiction since 2007. Over the years, IDFA DocLab has developed into one of the leading platforms for interactive documentary art and storytelling. Every year, we commission new pieces, initiate collaborations between artists, and offer a wide range of industry activities to support those shaping the landscape of emerging media and art.
IDFA DocLab Competitions
Each year an international jury is invited to give out the IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling, the IDFA DocLab Immersive Non-Fiction Award, and Special Jury Awards for Creative Technology. The two competitions are open to all sorts of interactive and immersive projects ranging from XR projects, web docs, audio experiences, apps, and data art to virtual reality, installations, live performances, and fulldome.
Exhibition
The annual DocLab Exhibition showcases around 30 installations and interactive projects, including the projects in competition. Over the course of eleven days, audiences are invited to discover the latest interactive documentaries, explore immersive installations, and play with some of today's most exciting new technologies. Previous works shown in the exhibition include Gates of Aleppo, Prison Valley, HIGHRISE, Robots in Residence, Alma, a Tale of Violence, I Love Your Work, Somebody, Serial, The Enemy, DMZ: Memories of No Man’s Land, Notes on Blindness, Follower, Dance Tonite, Deep Down Tidal, Symbiosis, Everything, Die with Me, Algorithmic Perfumery, Goliath: Playing with Reality, Lagos at Large, Only Expansion, In Event of Moon Disaster, and many more.
Live Cinema Events
The most exciting and unpredictable nights of the program are undoubtedly the live cinema events. These one-off interactive evenings each approach a certain topic in their own style, ranging from interactive showcases and artist talks to experimental multimedia performances with live music and contributions from the audience. Over the years the program has included immersive audience experiments by Anagram (A Glitch in Time), Moniker (Crowd Assessment), and Duncan Speakman, musical cinema experiences like #Alleman, Dreams, and Bear 71 Live, interactive dinners Eat | Tech | Kitchen and A Dinner with Frankenstein AI, performances of Ontroerend Goed’s £¥€$ and Micha Wertheim’s Somewhere Else, and world premieres of the collective VR experience Shared Individual, {The And} Live, and This American Life with Ira Glass.
Interactive Conference
How do we explore digital behaviour and redefine physical space and the art of documentary storytelling in the digital age? The one-day Interactive Conference brings together leading artists and thinkers from the world of art, technology, science and documentary to share their visions on documentaries and interactive media art. Past speakers include Jepchumba II (African Digital Art), Gabo Arora (UN/VRSE), Jessica Brillhart (Traverse), Ira Glass (This American Life), Jonathan Harris (We Feel Fine, I Love Your Work), Jason Spingarn Koff (Netflix), Rem Koolhaas (OMA), Sophia al Maria, Vincent Morisset (BlaBla, Just a Reflektor), Errol Morris, Marleen Stikker (Waag), and William Uricchio (MIT). Watch several talks from the most recent edition of the Interactive Conference here.
IDFA DocLab R&D Program
Presented in collaboration with the MIT Open Documentary Lab, the IDFA DocLab Research & Development Program runs all year-round, ultimately using the festival as a living lab for experimentation, research, and development. The program is aimed at the growing international ecosystem of artists, developers, scientists, and entrepreneurs working in interactive and immersive content, and each year we will focus on specific research questions that arise from developments in the field. See the list of supported projects to date.
IDFA DocLab Forum
Taking place as part of IDFA Forum, our three-day co-production and co-financing market supports interactive projects in all production stages. Projects presented at the IDFA DocLab Forum can find their way to new partnerships, receive in-depth feedback, and explore new ways to move forward. Previously presented projects include Alma, a Tale of Violence, Poppy Interactive, and Brett Gaylor’s Do Not Track.
Additional industry events
Every year there are also various industry events, networking opportunities, and panels where key players, creators, and new media professionals come together to discuss the future of digital storytelling, virtual reality, and interactive media. Take a look at some past industry events
IDFA DocLab is supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy of the Netherlands, CLICKNL, Gieskes-Strijbis Fonds, Netherlands Film Fund, and IDFA Special Friends+.
DocLab research collaboration partners include: MIT Open Documentary Lab, Beeld & Geluid, ARTIS-Planetarium, Atlas V, Bombina Bombast, Diversion cinema, East City Films, Eye Filmmuseum, Flemish Cultural Centre de Brakke Grond, Kaspar AI, National Film Board of Canada, Nu:Reality, ONX Studio, Polymorf, POPKRAFT, Sandman Studio.