In 2023 the Sunny Side of the Doc – one of the essential documentary events in the world – continues to support new formats and immersive, but in a new approach. Separating the professional from the general public, two events are proposed this year. Details of this new approach with Maïté Labat, the new programmer in charge of innovation and digital experiences for the event.
Cover: THE ISLAND OF SHELLS (Taiwan)
Sunny Side of the Doc, a 2023 revival
Maïté Labat – I come from the world of museums and cultural institutions, notably the Château de Versailles and the Louvre Museum. I have worked for more than 12 years on digital development issues and especially on innovative projects (augmented or virtual reality, non-linear writing or university projects). Since the end of 2022, I’ve been working on the development of the innovation part of the Sunny Side of the Doc, which of course includes the PiXii festival. From 2023, the latter will be completely independent with a dedicated festival for the general public from October 19 to 22.
M. L. – The Sunny Side remains very involved in new writing and narratives, and this remains an important element that we are reinforcing within the market this year. Our will is to continue to discover new documentary forms related to heritage and culture, with the international issues that this implies: the role of institutions, co-production, impact works, distribution… Among our first guests, we find:
- The Musée d’Orsay with Agnès Abastado, Head of the Digital Development Department, Deputy Director of Digital and Saskia Bakhuys, Head of Audiovisual and Digital Productions,
- The Nikolaj Kunsthal with Helene Nyborg Bay, Artistic Director
- The Musée national des arts asiatiques with Sophie Maire, Head of filming and institutional promotion,
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY with Nina Diamond, Executive Producer, Digital Direction,
- The Museo del Prado with Bernardo Pajares Duro, Head of Digital Communication,
- The Château de Versailles with Nejma Zegaoula, Head of audiovisual projects & author, and Agathe Renault, Head of international partnership development,
- The Paris Museums network with Scarlett Greco, Head of Digital Services.
M. L. – Integrating these immersive discussions into the Sunny Side of the Doc, even more than in previous years, means encouraging discussion between these institutions and the producers and creators. And this is done primarily through conferences and masterclasses (notably around NOIRE, a project presented at the Centre Pompidou and pitched two years ago in La Rochelle). We are also developing our partnerships with other documentary festivals such as the CPH:DOX, by bringing in one of the projects that the CPH:Lab presented this year, ZEDNA. The objective is to help them produce the project, find partners, within the framework of a market like the Sunny Side, which is there to support documentary co-production.
M. L. – Our second axis is the Innovative Studio, a new space that will host all the sessions and will be in the heart of the Sunny Side, and will present projects in development from all over the world – XR or more broadly interactive, even a video game with ARTE and a carte blanche to Xn Quebec. We will “push the walls” with inspiring experiences that are not totally documentary, like FROM THE MAIN SQUARE.
M. L. – Finally, the third pillar of our programming focuses on moments of exchange, notably on a “Culture and Innovation” networking so that creative studios can meet institutions, see linear producers… We want to mix all the accredited, and not isolate the XR in its corner. In the same sense, we don’t have a dedicated pitching session this year, but the projects we received were discussed on an equal footing with the linear projects… without making it into the selection. We are studying our approach on these pitches for 2024.
Some programming points:
- Case study XR : LES PIEDS EN HAUT (lien)
- Masterclass : From Doc to Immersion
- Case study XR : ZEDNA (voir notre interview)
- Conference : XR & Business Models
- Case study XR : THE ISLAND OF SHELLS (lien)
- Masterclass : NOIRE (COLORED)
- Conference : XR & Audiences
- Conference : Museums & Immersion
- Conference : XR & Impact
- Case study XR: LA VRAIE VIE
What is the XR market dedicated to heritage?
M. L. – Cultural and heritage institutions must combine their desire for innovation with their budget. They have been interested in these innovative issues for a long time, and they need it. Coming to events like the Sunny Side, or other festivals, is necessary for them to acculturate themselves to new formats. This year we will have a 2-hour session where the invited institutions will be able to present case studies, their approach to the public, etc. There is a great field of action, and I hope that our meeting in La Rochelle will be an important point of exchange.
M. L. – One of the strong trends today, not surprisingly, is audio and podcasting. Including to make visitors wait before, or to interest them during an exhibition. Augmented reality is also well received in cultural institutions. Virtual reality is more complex to master, notably for questions of mediation or budget. More generally, current experiments do not really favor one technology or another. Each one has its chance, and above all the approaches are often multiple.
M. L. – We also see a truly international dynamism, and this is directly reflected in the delegations we receive. Asia is a fascinating territory, with a lot of discussion and energy to bring in immersive exhibitions. Africa also interests us.
PiXii Festival, an independent take-off
M. L. – The PiXii Festival is a real opening to the general public, with XR, interactive but also webtoons, audio etc. The reception from the professionals is very favorable, because it’s a chance to reach a real public in La Rochelle, in its agglomeration and even beyond. Through this new initiative, we hope to change the way people look at these new formats and continue to democratize them. School sessions are planned, workshops in media libraries or socio-cultural centers … to better talk about image education and responsible digital.
M. L. – Without necessarily offering a real professional moment, we will organize conferences to initiate discussions with the public. The theme of this first edition is “digital explorations” with a focus on the oceans and biodiversity. The selection is made according to the exhibition places, in a discussion with the authors and the institutions. While keeping a coherent artistic direction on the whole! Our goal is to build a discourse to initiate an approach to digital cultures, while resonating with the local.
M. L. – The programming is done in resonance with the Sunny Side, even if we don’t exclude taking some fictions that fit in our theme. It is important to bring a bit of imagination to the public in these moments. PiXii will be a free entry event, and will award 2 prizes (public and student). We start on these bases, hoping for a success which will allow us to develop this meeting.
