Hello!
We’ve got just a couple of new articles for you on Immerse this month:
Julie Fukunaga on TED 2023 and the wonders and woes of generative AI. How might artists adapt to rapidly changing technological landscapes?
Sarah Wolozin on the story behind Pedro Harres’ interactive and immersive animated film From The Main Square.
Now, the reason we are not publishing much at the moment is because we are taking a pause at Immerse and entering a chrysalis period. The team is taking time to archive and sunset Immerse as we know it, and to reimagine what the Immerse community and dialogue of the future might be.
To keep you posted on our progress, we’ll continue this monthly newsletter so you’ll still be hearing from me. We’ll be sending out a survey soon to get some feedback and thoughts from all of you too.
So this is not goodbye but it is the end of an era. We are very proud of everything we achieved at Immerse. Thank you to everyone who has been part of the Immerse journey thus far. This community has sustained and inspired us and we are very grateful.
To what’s next!
What we’re reading and watching
How Spike Jonze’s Her is the perfect explainer and potential lesson on where the near future of AI might take us.
Timnit Gebru on how Effective Altruism - supported by tech figures like Sam Bankman-Fried - fuels the AI research agenda, creating a harmful system in the name of saving humanity.
The problem with artificial intelligence? It’s neither artificial nor intelligent says Evgeny Morozov.
What we still don’t know about how AI is trained.
Lance Weiler is an A.I. convert. His art students at Columbia University are still debating the creative value of ChatGPT and Midjourney. Powerful tools or a crutch?
Stop talking to each other and start buying things: three decades of survival in the desert of social media.
Every scene needs a storyteller. This really resonates with us at Immerse right now.
Buzzfeed, blue check marks, and the end of an internet era.
Immersive Spaces: connecting french immersive content to US sites. This is a great resource for anyone wanting to show immersive work in the US!
In Seduced by Story, the literary critic Peter Brooks argues that a “mindless valorization of storytelling” has crept into every aspect of public discourse, from politics to cookie packages, with alarming results.
Custom AI chatbots are quietly becoming the next big thing in fandom.
Projects we’re eyeballing
Take a look at the immersive and interactive projects nominated for a Peabody Award. This is the first year the Peabody Awards are including this category.
Fight Back, created by Celine Tricart, is an interactive experience with hand-tracking enabled, aiming at developing mental skills, confidence and muscle memory.
The Edge says the band's forthcoming Las Vegas residency is the “dawn of a new creative genre.” Speaking of innovative shows, this piece about ABBA Voyage creator Baillie Walsh from last year is interesting.
Coming up
Festivals, courses, and events
C2 Montréal is an immersive journey into the issues that are top of mind today with an eye towards shaping tomorrow, May 24-26.
The Next Stage Immersive Summit has wonderful speakers this year like Kamal Sinclair, Sarah Ellis and Michaela Ternasky-Holland. Badges on sale now, Los Angeles, June 2-4.
Submission deadlines
Venice Gap-Financing Market (this includes immersive projects) extended deadline is May 11.
LFF Expanded deadline is May 15.
The new UAL Storytelling Fellowship looks interesting. The AKO Storytelling Institute is launching a 9 month fellowship programme to explore how storytelling can lead to social change. Deadline to apply May 15.
80th Venice International Film Festival’s Venice Imersive deadline is May 29.
IDFA DocLab is now open for interactive/immersive project submissons, deadline June 27.
DOK Neuland submissions open, deadline June 29.
PHI Immersive Residency deadline is August 15. This year, the theme is artificial intelligence at the service of creativity.
Immerse is an initiative of MIT Open DocLab and Dot Connector Studio, and receives funding from Just Films | Ford Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation. The Gotham Film & Media Institute is our fiscal sponsor. Learn more about Immerse here. We are committed to exploring and showcasing emerging nonfiction projects that push the boundaries of media and tackle issues of social justice — and rely on friends like you to sustain ourselves and grow. Join us by making a gift today.
Publisher: Jessica Clark (Dot Connector Studio)
Managing Editor: Julie Fukunaga
Associate Editor: Omar El-Sabrout
Editorial Collective: Kat Cizek (MIT Open DocLab), Ingrid Kopp (Electric South), Sarah Wolozin (MIT Open DocLab)