IDFA DocLab Presents Liminal Reality: 5 New VR Projects (And One Encore Experience) I’m Hoping To Catch In 2022

For the past decade and a half the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, the world’s largest nonfiction fest, has both incubated and showcased our digital future through its perennially impressive IDFA DocLab. And this latest hybrid edition’s Liminal Reality program (which ran November 19-28) continued that trend. In addition to a wealth of in-person experiences and live events in the Netherlands’ capital (well, until the country went into pandemic lockdown on the final weekend), there was also a free online exhibition. Which is always great news not only for XR fans and obsessive gamers on a budget, but also for those of us travel-restricted and/or festival-gathering hesitant in the US and beyond. And while no gear was required for many of these projects (only Google Chrome browser and a desktop computer or laptop recommended), hardcore VR aficionados with headsets on hand especially seemed to have gratis entry into a wide array of mind bending worlds. So with this in (sound) mind, here’s an eclectic selection of new experiences from around the globe – plus one oldie but goodie that rocked my world a half decade back – that I’m guessing, if the following program synopses are any indication, will cause much more than a ripple when they hit this side of the pond. To read my recommendations/plea to US-based new media programmers visit Hammer to Nail.