What Lasts: Building a Future for XR and Immersive Arts

What Lasts: Building a Future for XR and Immersive Arts

What lasts in XR once the first rush of premieres and new devices settles? This podcast brings you straight into a sharp, inspiring conversation between leading creators, funders, and curators from the UK and Germany. Together they unpack the real challenges behind building a sustainable XR field: long-term funding, meaningful collaboration, institutional responsibility, and the skills needed for the next decade of immersive arts. This podcast is a recording of the live panel “What Lasts? Building a Future for XR and Immersive Arts”. It took place on 31 October in Leipzig during DOK Exchange XR, held in partnership with the British Council Germany. The episode also references the newest British Council report “Why Technology Needs Artists [https://www.britishcouncil.org/research-insight/why-technology-needs-artists]”. Find the transcript of the episode here [https://www.dok-leipzig.de/sites/default/files/2025-12/DOK_Industry_Podcast_Transcript_What%20Lasts%20Building%20a%20Future%20for%20XR%20and%20Immersive%20Arts_0.pdf]. Language: English Length: 1:34:12 Recorded on 31 Oct, 2025 Sound Recording: Hein-Godehart Petschulat Sound Design: Clemens Litschko Music Composer: Marcus Lori Intro/Outro Voice: Weronika M. Lewandowska Producer of Episode 6: Weronika M. Lewandowska Producer of DOK Industry Podcast Season 6: Anne Rethfeldt This podcast episode is produced in partnership with The British Council Germany [https://www.britishcouncil.de]. The DOK Industry Podcast 2025 is realised in partnership with POC2 Programmers of Colour Collective, What’s Up With Docs Podcast [https://www.whatsupwdocs.com/] and Talking Shorts [https://talkingshorts.com/], and supported by film.macht.kritisch [https://www.cananturan.de/podcast] - Der Podcast über das andere Kino. You can find out more about our collaborators here [https://www.dok-leipzig.de/en/podcasts].

Mapping the Future of In(ter)dependent Cinema

The research of cultural workers Abhishek Nilamber (curator, filmmaker) and Laura Kloeckner (curator, film producer) of United Screens has been cited in the Distribution Advocates podcast, and spotlighted at the International Documentary Association’s Getting Real conference. In this conversation, listeners can hear how Laura and Abhishek’s experiences of thinking with and collaborating with cinephile spaces and cinema practitioners across the Global South have led them to identify the core challenges faced by filmmakers today. Out of this research and a series of gatherings called Think Wells, a network of networks called Meshdia emerged with aim of designing specific protocols for an alternative cinema circulation infrastructure. Hear them share their philosophy regarding a new way forward, a path that prioritizes shared learnings, leans into our interconnectedness and interdependence, and proposes collaborations across the film ecosystem in order to maximise access to cinema. Facilitated by Firelight Media’s Documentary Lab Director, Lucy Mukerjee. Length: 46:04 Recorded: 30 October, 2025 Host and Curator: Lucy Mukerjee Speaker: Laura Kloeckner, Abhishek Nilamber Music Composer: Marcus Lori Sound Design: Philipp Rumsch Editor and Producer: Anne Rethfeldt The DOK Industry Podcast 2025 is realised in partnership with POC2 Programmers of Colour Collective, What’s Up With Docs Podcast [https://www.whatsupwdocs.com/] and Talking Shorts [https://talkingshorts.com/], and supported by film.macht.kritisch [https://www.cananturan.de/podcast] - Der Podcast über das andere Kino. You can find out more about our collaborators here [https://www.dok-leipzig.de/en/podcasts].

Next Gen XR Rising

What the Industry Needs to Catch Up On What kind of XR worlds are we offering the next generation – and which ones are still missing? Our guests share their experience of the projects that reach youth today, the gaps that remain, and the ideas beginning to take shape. They reflect on how ethical design and thoughtful curation can spark critical thinking, influence memory and behavior, and strengthen digital literacy. At the heart of the conversation lie urgent questions: how do young people actually experience XR, and how might these encounters shape their understanding of the world and the design of immersive media itself? What responsibilities fall on creators, curators, and institutions when showcasing XR to youth? And, most importantly, what should the industry keep in mind if it wants to support works that not only inspire, but also equip the next generation to understand the media of tomorrow. Curator and Moderator: Weronika Lewandowska Main Guests Dana Melaver, Transmedia Artists and the Curator of the Extended Reality: DOK Neuland Exhibition [https://www.dok-leipzig.de/dok-neuland] Prodromos Tsiavos, Head of Digital Development and Innovation at Onassis Foundation and a Senior Research Fellow at The Media Institute at University College London Voices of XR Community – Creators Fanni Fazakas, Creator of Missing 10 Hours, RUMEXR [https://rumexr.com/] Oliver Scott, Creator of EmbodyXR - The Future of Immersive Mental Wellbeing, Mercurial Dance [https://www.mercurialdance.co.uk/] Anne Fehres [https://www.annefehres.com/], Creator of Revival Roadshow Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts, and to the Onassis Foundation [https://www.onassis.org/] for partnering with us on this episode. Language: English Length: 56:40 Recorded on 12 Sep, 2025 Host and Curator: Weronika Lewandowska Speaker: Anne Fehres, Dana Melaver, Fanni Fazakas, Oliver Scott, Prodromos Tsiavos Music Composer: Marcus Lori Sound Design: Philipp Rumsch Editor and Producer: Anne Rethfeldt The DOK Industry Podcast 2025 is realised in partnership with POC2 Programmers of Colour Collective, What’s Up With Docs Podcast [https://www.whatsupwdocs.com/] and Talking Shorts [https://talkingshorts.com/], and supported by film.macht.kritisch [https://www.cananturan.de/podcast] - Der Podcast über das andere Kino.

Between Co-Option and Solidarity

Conversation between Saleh Kashefi, Heitor Augusto and Sanne Jehoul In an increasingly dark global climate, what does it mean for film festivals to platform and for filmmakers to produce ‘political’ work, particularly short films, with their particular space for immediacy and radical expression? When work is made with political or activist intent, what tensions arise when they encounter a Euro/Western centric and elite industry? Iranian filmmaker Saleh Kashefi, Brazilian curator Heitor Augusto, and Talking Shorts commissioning editor Sanne Jehoul discuss some thoughts and provocations around power imbalances, the damage of competition-driven programming practices, who sets aesthetic standards, and more. In collaboration with **Programmers of Colour Collective **and Talking Shorts.  Films in discussion are: Estamos todos aqui [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvbN12P18Lg] (We Are All Here) by Chica Andrade and Rafael Mellim Filme sem querer (Film or Not Film) by Lincoln Péricles And How Miserable is the Home of Evil by Saleh Kashefi How to Order Online [https://vimeo.com/397222038/2a80de04c2] by Jules Ramage I Signed the Petition [https://vimeo.com/284953384] by Mahdi Fleifel Length: 62:09 Recorded: 15 September, 2025 Host and Curator: Sanne Jehoul Speaker: Heitor Augusto, Saleh Kashefi Music Composer: Marcus Lori Sound Design: Clemens Litschko Editor and Producer: Anne Rethfeldt The DOK Industry Podcast 2025 is realised in partnership with POC2 Programmers of Colour Collective, What’s Up With Docs Podcast [https://www.whatsupwdocs.com/] and Talking Shorts [https://talkingshorts.com/], and supported by film.macht.kritisch [https://www.cananturan.de/podcast] - Der Podcast über das andere Kino. You can find out more about our collaborators here [https://www.dok-leipzig.de/en/podcasts].

What’s Up with Docs feat. Ranell Shubert (Disability Media Alliance) – “Star Baby”

In this episode, host Toni Achebe Bell reunites with former producer Ranell Shubert, now Executive Director of the Disability Media Alliance (DMA), to discuss power, possibility, and breaking barriers in nonfiction film. Ranell reflects on the research, lived experience, and movement-building that led to DMA’s formation from her groundbreaking work at the International Documentary Association (IDA), Getting Real, and the Direct Access Fund. Together, she and Toni explore the deep-rooted systemic challenges from inaccessible festivals to underfunded support networks and the transformative potential of centering care, community, and disability-led leadership. The song for this episode is RuPaul’s “Star Baby,” because this episode highlights what’s possible when disabled creators are resourced, respected, and ready to shine. To learn more or get involved, visit DisabilityMedia.org [https://www.disabilitymedia.org/]. Here [https://www.dok-leipzig.de/sites/default/files/2025-09/6.2.2_transcript-final-document_0.pdf] is the link to the transcript of the episode. Length: 64:17 Recorded: 15 July, 2025 Host and Curator: Toni Achebe Bell Speaker: Ranell Shubert Music Composer: Marcus Lori Sound Design: Philipp Rumsch Editor and Producer: Anne Rethfeldt The DOK Industry Podcast 2025 is realised in partnership with POC2 Programmers of Colour Collective, What’s Up With Docs Podcast [https://www.whatsupwdocs.com/] and Talking Shorts [https://talkingshorts.com/], and supported by film.macht.kritisch [https://www.cananturan.de/podcast] - Der Podcast über das andere Kino. You can find out more about our collaborators here [https://www.dok-leipzig.de/en/podcasts].