The fourth edition of the Vrijplaats ‘Creating the Experience’ Residency began in May 2023 and will continue until the end of November 2023. This year, the participants of the Vrijplaats Residency will present their final projects at Vondel CS, the new home of IDFA, which became a partner of the Vrijplaats Residency on September 1st.

The fourth edition of the Vrijplaats is organized by FilmForward in collaboration with IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) and focuses on ‘Creating the Experience.’

We will look at everything that is currently happening outside the boundaries of film practice. How do you tell immersive stories for film, interactive, crossover (VR, AR and XR) and everything beyond? This is a world that is currently developing rapidly and influencing the way cinematic narratives are produced and experienced. The spectator becomes a participant. How do you shape that new experience, in film plan, screenplay, visual language, worldbuilding and how do you talk about the feeling you want to evoke in the viewer?

In de Vrijplaats Creating the Experience is room for all kinds of film professionals and image makers who want to research that immersive experience: production designers, theater makers, game designers, screenwriters, producers, dancers, composers, etc. De Vrijplaats is there for beginning makers who want to experiment with immersive storytelling but also for more experienced makers.

You work on your own research as well as that of others: you are researcher, test audience, sounding board and expert all at the same time. Community building is very important to de Vrijplaats, so we expect you to be available on all of the dates below. 

For your own research you will work with a mentor, in collaborative, partly self-designed sessions and master classes we will explore together the tension, the interplay, the dance between maker and participant, between immersive artist and immersant. Returning speakers at de Vrijplaats include Winnie Roseval (Positionality training) and Rogier Klomp who organizes DasArts feedback sessions.  

Creating the Experience is curated by film journalist and writer Dana Linssen and immersive designer and strategist Nienke Huitenga. In consultation, each participant will be paired with a mentor who will guide your research process throughout de Vrijplaats.

Contact

For questions about de Vrijplaats, please contact Dymme Plomp (dymme@filmforward.nl).