Today marks the start of the 20th edition of IDFA Doclab, the new media program of the IDFA documentary festival. From November 13 through 22, 2026, Amsterdam will host some 30 new immersive projects, as well as a number of notable projects from Doclab’s previous editions (such as ‘Notes on Blindness’ from 2016). In addition to the main venue, De Brakke Grond, projects can also be experienced at locations including Casa Rosso, @Droog, and the ARTIS Planetarium.
We’ll be highlighting the work of several Dutch and Flemish creators, including Dries Verhoeven, POLYMORF, Noa Jansma, Ali Eslami, Tamara Shogaolu, Abner Preis, Sanne de Wilde, Ant Hampton and Samuel Baidoo.
The theme of DocLab’s 20th edition is “Shared Realities.” No matter how different our realities may be, we cannot escape one another. Through VR, games, installations, and live performances, creators, artists, and technologists explore how we experience ourselves, each other, and the world. The full IDFA DocLab program can be found at idfa.nl/doclab. All the Doclab 2026 projects are here. Admission to the exhibition is free, but online reservations are required.
Orgasmagoria by Dries Verhoeven
Screening continuously at sex theatre Casa Rosso is a film about sexual pleasure in the digital age, created in collaboration with a group of international (cyber)sex workers, porn actors and their friends.
Microbiome Restaurant by POLYMORF
A human being is not an autonomous individual, but an ecosystem of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa. Polymorf brings this invisible world closer through gastronomic experiments for your skin, gut, and brain. The location @Droog features an installation and two performances. One is for six people and involves a human-sized petri dish, while the other is a surreal gastronomic experience for three participants featuring a scientifically based rectal menu.
My Father is Turning into Soil by Noa Jansma
Artist Noa Jansma seeks an earthly afterlife in this installation presenting recordings of microscopic life in her father’s grave. Visitors can also taste root vegetables grown in that same soil if they choose.
ESHRAQ by Ali Eslami
With DeathTolls Experience, Iranian Dutch artist Ali Eslami won the IDFA DocLab Immersive Non-Fiction Award in 2016. His new project is a game, but not one you can complete. Instead, you enter a simulation capable of almost endless variation. Inspired by the 12th-century Persian philosopher Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi, Eslami translates its ideas into a “cognitive playground.”
The Invisible Woman VR by Tamara Shogaolu
The 17th-century free Black woman Francisca de Angola, recorded in Amsterdam’s archives as a troublemaker, is in danger of being forgotten—unless the 21st-century journalist Idil can join her own voice with Francisca’s in this VR opera. This VR experience is on display in the VR Gallery, and on Sunday, November 15, there will be a one-time preview of a live immersive opera currently in development at Studio Boekman of the Dutch National Opera.
Lost Hood by Abner Preis
The resistance of times past comes back to life on Spuistraat in central Amsterdam, where gentrification has hit hard. Through augmented reality, the countercultures of the past—from squatters to the Kabouters—reclaim the public space.
Love Files by Sanne de Wilde and Samir Veen
As a visitor to this archive, you are handed a “love file” submitted by a transnational couple, whose relationship you have to assess as part of an application for a residence permit. Is the evidence they have provided credible or not? Why?
All the Downtime by Ant Hampton
As in his previous work Borderline Visible (winner of a Special Jury Award for Creative Technology at IDFA DocLab in 2023), this immersive work by Ant Hampton places a photobook in your hands. Leafing through it, guided by a soundtrack featuring narration, ambient sound, and instructions, you become the connecting factor that brings together the aural and visual parts of the experience.
Hive Mind Pong by Katpatat
A fresh take on an audience experiment: play one game with a group of people. Everyone can join in, but how much control do you have when technology decides how your voice counts?
Plum Road Tea Dream by Samuel Baidoo
On a deliberately paced walk through fragmented virtual spaces, a semi-autobiographical story unfolds in this game about belonging and grief.
Archive Arcade: Notes on Blindness
What’s it like to be blind? This enchanting, award-winning interactive VR experience from 2016 is based on the audio diary of author and theologian John Hull—a journey into a world beyond sight.
Exhibition at De Brakke Grond
The best place to start at IDFA Doclab Shared Realities is the main exhibition at De Brakke Grond, where a large number of projects can be viewed for free daily from November 13 through 22, 2026, between 11:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. On three afternoons, you can participate in the Doclab Playrooms. Every day at 6:00 PM, IDFA Doclab offers free tours of Shared Realities. You do need a ticket for the VR Gallery and live performances. You can also visit projects at Casa Rosso (Orgasmagoria), @Droog (Microbiome Restaurant), the ENTR VR Museum (In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats), the Dutch National Opera (The Invisible Woman), the ARTIS Planetarium (Sensing the Unseen) and Spuistraat (Lost Hood).
DocLab Playrooms
Three free walk in afternoons featuring presentations, experiments and interactive showcases by artists. These ongoing events will take place on 14, 16 & 17 November from 3.00 pm to 7.00 pm at the Brakke Grond, centred around the themes of Gaming Open Worlds, Metabolic Sublime and Time Versus Space.
VR Gallery
In the VR Gallery at de Brakke Grond, you can explore various virtual reality films and experiences: a range of projects to broaden your scope, long after you’ve removed the headset. One VR Booth in the exhibition space is open for free walk-ins.
