Open Doc Lab curates a Docubase playlist of projects about confinement
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Prison Map by Josh BegleyFor this issue, the MIT Open Documentary Lab curated a Docubase playlist of projects that uniquely capture themes of social confinement and isolation through new media techniques and technologies. Isolation is on all of our minds as we live through a pandemic—but nothing we experience outside prison walls compares to confinement within a prison, where rights to privacy, respect, and autonomy are taken away.
The playlist, Confinement, includes XR projects that use 3D imagery to express the physicality of a solitary confinement cell, first-person narratives to intimately share stories of formerly incarcerated people, and data visualizations to demonstrate the sheer scale of mass incarceration in the U.S. These projects also explore topics ranging from the immigration detention process, to re-entering a society that is unprepared to take care of those leaving the prison system. We researched productions featured in leading festivals, conferences, Immerse, and Docubase itself.
Docubase is a curated database of the people, projects, and technologies transforming documentary in the digital age. It is a place to discover various playlists and projects, unearth new work, explore techniques, and find people pioneering storytelling forms. Docubase opens up the digital storytelling process by providing production data about each project, behind-the-scenes materials, interviews, and case studies to demystify the process and encourage participation.
The public is invited to participate and learn from this growing community of digital documentary makers: Comment, suggest a project or a tag, or write your own playlist.
Immerse is an initiative of the MIT Open DocLab and The Fledgling Fund, and it receives funding from Just Films | Ford Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation. IFP is our fiscal sponsor. Learn more here. We are committed to exploring and showcasing media projects that push the boundaries of media and tackle issues of social justice — and rely on friends like you to sustain ourselves and grow. Join us by making a gift today.