There has been talk of censorship in the VR world with some certain VR platforms taking a strong family values approach. What we’re celebrating with the ‘messy metaverse party’ is the disjointedness, the independence which interactive artists explore and thrive on. The potential of what can be done in spatial media is immense. That is, in a way, a disjointed, clunky version of a metaverse. Look at how, especially during the pandemic, we have all been living vicariously through our screens, more maybe than we wanted to. Look at what kids are doing in Minecraft or Road Blocks. It was because ‘metaverse’ is such a buzzword. It’s interesting to explore the associations people have with the word ‘metaverse.’ We sent out a little questionnaire to people in the field asking what is the emotion that first comes to mind when you mention the word, ‘metaverse.’ This was before the Facebook announcement. With Facebook rebranding into a “metaverse company,” would it be fair to say that VR is now truly in the mainstream? Sonnen talks to Screen about the metaverse, censorship in the VR world and how that is impacting what DocLab supports and commissions. for digital storytelling and immersive non-fiction, it is holding conferences and exhibitions as well as its own “messy metaverse party.” It has spread out over Amsterdam, with live events and live screenings at venues from the EYE Museum to the ARTIS-Planetarium as well as a ‘Liminal Reality’ programme. In its 15 th year, DocLab has both a physical and digital presence. Traditional museums and theatres have been obliged to move into the online space in order to stay in touch with their audiences. When Caspar Sonnen, head of new media at International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), launched DocLab in 2007, immersive and interactive storytelling was still in its infancy.įlash forward to 2021 to a world still coping with the Covid pandemic (and IDFA is taking place under a semi-lockdown), and the boundaries between the physical and the digital are blurring.