DOK Exchange XR 2025
DOK Exchange XR Conference
Creators and experts gather to redefine the forms and boundaries of immersive art, documentary and game design as the DOK Exchange XR Conference in 2025 explores how immersive practices are reshaping cultural narratives and power structures. By spotlighting experimental XR storytelling and hybrid media, the conference examines the political, ethical, and aesthetic stakes of creating experiences that transcend traditional formats, turning its attention to XR’s transformation from a headset-based medium to a hybrid storytelling ecosystem.
Language
English
Access
Guests with an Accreditation and DOK Exchange XR Conference Pass are welcome.
When & Where
30 October, 14:00 - 18:00
31 October, 12:00 - 16:00
Keynotes
Propaganda in VR: Designing Emotion, Steering Memory
“In VR, propaganda is bodily and multisensory: you touch, interact, feel, and move inside it. It is a place you visit and a lived experience, designed to steer how you feel and what you think.”
Rūta Kazlauskaitė is a political scientist at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Her research explores emotional manipulation, disinformation, and propaganda in extended reality (VR/AR/MR), with a focus on how immersive technologies reshape political communication and public memory. She currently leads the project "Halbwachs in the Metaverse: Storyliving and democracy in the age of immersive spatial computing" (2025–2028), funded by the Kone Foundation. Her work has appeared in leading journals, including Memory Studies, Rethinking History, Memory, Mind & Media, International Journal of Heritage Studies, Journal of the Philosophy of History, Emotions and Society, and Ethnicities.
Pointing Fingers – Who is Responsible for Virtual Reality Literacy
“I wished there was a Ministry of Metaverses.”
Katharina Haverich works at the intersection of media and theatre. Her shows were presented at House of Electronic Arts Basel, Chicago Virtual Art Museum, re:publica and Spreehalle (Berlin Art Week Connect). Haverich co-founded Radikale Töchter. From 2022-25, she was a part-time lecturer at Berlin University of the Arts. In 2024, Haverich initiated the Berlin School of VR.
I Feel Therefore I Am: How Embodied Stories Reframe Our Sense of Selves and Others
“How we are weaving the science and poetics of embodiment in immersive experiences to inspire audiences to adapt behaviours?”
May Abdalla, an Emmy-nominated director and artist, is celebrated for her innovative work merging physical experience, technology, and storytelling. Through Anagram, the studio she co-founded in 2013, she explores contemporary issues using documentary, game-design, and speculative fiction. Anagram's projects range from Door Into The Dark, a blindfolded experience about being lost, to Messages to A Post Human Earth, an augmented reality exploration of plant intelligence. Her ongoing collaboration with Barry Gene Murphy utilizes immersive technologies to delve into first-person experiences of mental health conditions. Their series Playing With Reality, has received two Venice Lions.
Rethinking Embodiment, Ethics, and AI in XR’s Shift to Hybrid Storytelling
“The biological reality of the holobiont (human) body, AI and robotics challenge the current dominant idea on what it means to be a human body equipped with consciousness, and what it means to design for it.”
Marcel van Brakel is a founder and lead designer at Dutch XR studio Polymorf. His award winning projects on immersive storytelling and embodiment incorporates emerging technologies, multisensory design, and performativity. His work reflects on the now, the (post)human condition, and the shifting relationships between the body, technology and ecology, and ranges from interactive performances, theatre, operas, VR, AR,AI speculative designs, brain-hacking projects, multi-sensory, and interactive art installations. Marcel is fellow of the Sundance Institute, New frontiers story LAB, and senior lecturer at Avans University.
Taking place 18:00–19:00
Private exhibition tour with the Curator of Neuland, Dana Melaver. Only for DOK Exchange XR guests.
UK-Germany in Focus. In partnership with The British Council Germany
Immersive technologies are transforming how we tell stories and connect with audiences. But what will endure once the novelty fades? What Lasts? Building a Future for XR and Immersive Arts brings together XR producers, curators, and cultural decision-makers from Germany and the UK to debate how the sector can grow beyond short-term projects. How do we fund XR sustainably, use AI and data responsibly, and bring in more diverse voices and younger creators? By comparing models across borders, the panel explores what it will take to build an XR sector that’s not just innovative but also enduring.
When & Where
Curator is one of the leading curators and creative directors in the field of immersive media, renowned for his innovative approach to the intersection of art and technology. As the Artistic Director of the UBS Digital Art Museum in Hamburg and founder of the VRHAM! Biennale, he is shaping new ways of presenting and experiencing digital art. Working between Hamburg and London, he also heads the Immersive Programme at the British Film Institute (BFI) and serves on the British Council’s Advisory Board for Arts and Creative Economy. In addition, he curates the digital section of Art Dubai, the premier international art fair for digital media. Ulrich is a jury member for prestigious awards such as the Lumen Prize and the Fedora Digital Art Prize, and is a regular speaker at major events including the Venice Biennale, SXSW, and the Cannes Film Festival.
Panellists
May Abdalla, an Emmy-nominated director and artist, is celebrated for her innovative work merging physical experience, technology, and storytelling. Through Anagram, the studio she co-founded in 2013, she explores contemporary issues using documentary, game-design, and speculative fiction. Anagram's projects range from Door Into The Dark, a blindfolded experience about being lost, to Messages to A Post Human Earth, an augmented reality exploration of plant intelligence. Her ongoing collaboration with Barry Gene Murphy utilizes immersive technologies to delve into first-person experiences of mental health conditions. Their series Playing With Reality, has received two Venice Lions.
Max Permantier is Funding Executive at FFF Bayern, where he oversees funding for Extended Reality (XR, VR, AR, MR and 3D sound). He works at the intersection of film, media and technology, supporting innovative projects and advancing Bavaria’s XR ecosystem. Trained at the ifs internationale filmschule cologne, he gained experience as a creative producer, screenwriter and production manager in film, series and transmedia. Max has served as jury member at the Luxembourg Film Award, DOK.digital Munich and the ArtTech Prize, and as speaker at Venice, NewImages Paris, DocSalon Berlin, VR Days Luxembourg and other platforms shaping XR’s role in culture and the creative industries.
Paul Hauptmeier is a composer and multimedia artist based in Leipzig. He studied composition in Weimar and in San Diego, California. Since 2009 he works as part of the artist duo Hauptmeier|Recker in the field of composition, sound and multimedia art. Paul is a founding member of the ZiMMT in Leipzig, where he conducts research in the field of spatial audio and augmented reality in the field of sound and multimedia art and organises workshops, panels, concerts and exhibitions on the subject. His works have been presented in festivals and institutions like: Sharjah Biennial, Istanbul Biennial, Venice Biennial, Venice Biennale Musica, Festspielhaus Hellerau, Ses Dotze Naus Ibiza, EMAF.
Sarah Ellis is an award-winning producer currently the Director of Creative Innovation and member of the senior leadership team for the Royal Shakespeare Company. She is currently Executive Producer for Lili a video game adaptation of Macbeth and collaboration with INK Stories and Alambic Productions. It was the first video game ever presented at Cannes Film Festival in 2025. She is also pioneering research as Principle Investigator for the Arts and Humanities Research Council's Feasability study for a Future of Performance Institute. From 2019–2021 she was Project Director for the Audience of the Future Live Performance Demonstrator funded by Innovate UK.
In partnership with The British Council Germany
In partnership with MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein and Inclusive Gaming GmbH
Panel will explore and compare the design process of XR games and mobile, screen-based games, with a strong focus on accessibility and inclusivity. In a casual, conversational format, two panelists will exchange insights, learning from each other as they examine how design challenges, mechanics, and player experiences differ across these mediums. The discussion will also consider how emerging technologies – like finger tracking, smart glasses, and other innovations – are transforming game accessibility, sometimes broadening participation while at other times unintentionally creating new barriers.
When & Where
XR creator, immersive narratives curator, and coordinator of the DOK Exchange XR Programme at DOK Leipzig. Co-curator of Embodied Realms, a festival dedicated to performance art and XR in Poland. Mentors XR projects including Climate Challenge XR for the European Space Agency, and writes XR climate games for the Guest XR research project (University of Warsaw), exploring AI agents and social XR harmony. Conducts research on AI in performance art involving XR. In 2021, served as expert for the Committee for Innovative Film Projects at the National Film Institute.
Co-directed and co-wrote the award-winning VR erotic poem “Noccc (Nightsss)”, premiered at Sundance. As a poet, performer, and cultural studies PhD, experiments with interdisciplinary poetry blending artistic practice and technology. Poems published in Romania, Estonia, South Africa, Brazil, and Poland. Sound poem featured in The Liberated Voice – Sound Poetry exhibition at Palais de Tokyo, Paris. Leads workshops in immersive storytelling and creative writing focused on bodily engagement and expanded narrative experience.
Panellists
Creative producer with a background in theatre and immersive technologies. Her VR experience “The Smell of Summer Rain” has been selected for the NEST program from MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein and was part of the New Images Festival's Development Market 2025. “Monstersongs” – The VR Rock Musical has received funding from Gamecity Hamburg and is part of Press Start. Other credits include: production coordinator for Nexus Studios, Community Coordinator for Sony Interactive, producer for Musical Bites (The Other Palace), Paper Hearts (Upstairs at the Gatehouse, First Stage Theatre), Aria-Entertainment’s From Page to Stage (The Other Palace) and assistant tour manager for Holiday On Ice.
When finishing his master's studies in computer science 2021, Stefan listened to a podcast about a blind person trying out games that clearly aren't made with blind people in mind. Fascinated by it, he saw an opportunity to go into game development and create totally new experiences for people who didn't get much attention before. What he likes most on his job as founder and advocate of Inclusive Gaming is to challenge fields that demand both rationale and empathy and promote more inclusive environments.
In partnership with MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein and Inclusive Gaming GmbH
Panel will showcase XR creators from the Prototyping Zone reflecting on insights gained from testing and engaging with experts and and the professionals from the XR community. It will highlight the value of audience research and testing, offering practical tips on preparation and effective feedback collection.
When & Where
XR creator, immersive narratives curator, and coordinator of the DOK Exchange XR Programme at DOK Leipzig. Co-curator of Embodied Realms, a festival dedicated to performance art and XR in Poland. Mentors XR projects including Climate Challenge XR for the European Space Agency, and writes XR climate games for the Guest XR research project (University of Warsaw), exploring AI agents and social XR harmony. Conducts research on AI in performance art involving XR. In 2021, served as expert for the Committee for Innovative Film Projects at the National Film Institute.
Co-directed and co-wrote the award-winning VR erotic poem “Noccc (Nightsss)”, premiered at Sundance. As a poet, performer, and cultural studies PhD, experiments with interdisciplinary poetry blending artistic practice and technology. Poems published in Romania, Estonia, South Africa, Brazil, and Poland. Sound poem featured in The Liberated Voice – Sound Poetry exhibition at Palais de Tokyo, Paris. Leads workshops in immersive storytelling and creative writing focused on bodily engagement and expanded narrative experience.
Panellists
Ula Sowa Przybylska is a digital creative, emerging producer, and creative technologist with a background in cultural anthropology and immersive media. She is drawn to concept-driven, socially engaged projects that explore critical questions through innovative forms. Her focus lies in narrative space and XR documentary storytelling. Her projects have been selected for programs such as CPH:LAB, BelDocs XR Academy, Anidox:lab, East Doc Platform Interactive, Sheffield Doc/Fest, and the Goethe-Institut’s DATAS Residency.
Awarded audio director, composer and metamusician based in Warsaw, Poland. PhD in spatial and interactive audio, Assistant Professor at Fryderyk Chopin University of Music at the Sound Engineering Department. Guest lecturer at Visual Narratives Laboratory in Film School Lodz and Fine Arts Academy in Warsaw. Spatial and interactive audio expert. His latest works include immersive music documentaries, interactive 6DoF VR performances and experiences, and also immersive journalism.
Dennis is a digital artist, producer, and teacher from Kiel, Germany. He lived and worked in Scotland for 12 years before returning after Brexit. Trained as a sculptor, he moved into immersive media and VR in 2015, presenting works from Montreal and London to Denmark. Dennis has collaborated on immersive projects with BBC Scotland, The National Theatre of Scotland, Glasgow University, Goethe-Institut Glasgow, and Landesbibliothek Schleswig-Holstein. Currently, he receives prototype funding from MOIN Filmförderung, leads the XR Werkstatt at DRK Akademy Schleswig-Holstein, teaches AR/VR at Fachhochschule Kiel, and consults and teaches immersive storytelling
Boo began as a filmmaker and, over 17 years of directing and producing, has consistently pushed the boundaries of storytelling. Since 2012, she has pioneered and led creative teams for stage and immersive productions at Singapore’s state-of-the-art Star Performing Arts Theatre, directing shows that combined complex projections, multiple LED walls, and live dancers, singers, and musicians. Deeply curious about the essence of being human and woman, she explores themes of struggle, wholeness, spirituality, redemption, and empowerment. She now designs and produces XR games and experiences, including serving as Producer of an unannounced Meta-funded MR game.
DOK Industry is realised with the support of Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union, the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM) and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media upon a Decision of the German Bundestag.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the MEDIA sub-programme of Creative Europe. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
