Nine Immersive Documentary Projects Selected for CPH:LAB 2024/2025 in Denmark
Nine new international projects have been chosen for the 2024/2025 edition of CPH:LAB, the talent development and training initiative hosted by CPH:DOX in Denmark. The initiative, which focuses on immersive and interactive documentary filmmaking, provides a platform for global creators to experiment with new forms of storytelling and technology. The selected projects explore a variety of social, political, and cultural themes and will undergo an intensive development phase before their prototypes are presented at CPH:DOX in March 2025.
CPH:LAB, established in 2009, has consistently championed innovative documentary filmmaking. It encourages artists to reimagine documentary formats in the digital age, embracing immersive technologies such as virtual and augmented reality. This year’s projects, chosen from diverse geographic regions, tackle a wide range of subjects, from futuristic explorations to personal narratives, reflecting the pressing issues of both past and present.
Mara Gourd-Mercado, Head of Industry and Training at CPH:DOX, praised the lab’s track record, noting its role in launching projects to prestigious festivals and distribution platforms worldwide. “We’re convinced this tradition will carry on with this new cohort,” she said, highlighting the international scope and diversity of the 2024/2025 selection.
Mark Atkin, Head of Studies at CPH:LAB, echoed these sentiments, emphasizing how the selected artists are navigating rapidly changing media landscapes. “The artists on the CPH:LAB are stretching themselves to create new types of media that will appeal to audiences who are abandoning traditional platforms,” Atkin remarked, adding that the lab provides an essential experimental space for such exploration.
The participants will engage in a series of workshops and mentoring sessions, combining online and in-person formats, from September 2024 to February 2025. A residential workshop will be held in Copenhagen in October 2024, where creators will collaborate with mentors such as Vassiliki Khonsari, Emma Roberts, Toby Coffey, Ana Brzezińska, and Peiman Sichani—key figures from across the immersive and XR industries.
The selected projects reflect the program’s aim of blending artistic innovation with deep thematic exploration. These include:
- "Futuristic Pagan: Exploring the Cosmos" (Zimbabwe / UK) by Chipo Mapondera, Sabina Mutsvati
- "TUNER" (France / Denmark) by Omid Zarei, Anne Jeppesen
- "LE CHIFFRE 2" (France) by Lucien Pin, Thibault Elie, Alex Haugmard
- "Midsummernight X" (France / Germany) by Elena Lyubarskaya, David Steiner
- "Necessary Tomorrows – The Education of Ursula" (Canada) by Brett Gaylor, Cianna Dawn
- "Cripping Up VR" (UK) by Meg Fozzard, Amy Crighton
- "Dioramas of the Unused" (Hungary / Italy / Denmark) by Eszter Várhidi, Francesca Tremulo
- "Not so far away places" (Guatemala / Georgia / Germany) by Renato Borrayo Serrano, Julia Vishnevets
- "Scratching the Surface" (Poland / Germany) by Alexander Mettin, Wiktor Filip Gacparski
The CPH:LAB’s impact has been substantial over the years, with many of its projects making their mark on the global stage. Recent examples include "The Pathogen of War" by Yasmin Fedda, which premiered at the CPH:DOX Interactive Exhibition 2024, and "Paradise Lost" by Yolanda Markopoulou, selected for the IDFA DocLab Forum 2023.
With backing from the European Union’s Creative Europe MEDIA program, CPH:LAB continues to push the boundaries of documentary filmmaking, creating a space for artists to innovate and explore the future of immersive media.