IFM Research-Creation Mapping (2021 – 2025): Media, Themes & Re-Worlding Through Interactivity

Introduction

• Speaker: Hudson Mora, chair of the Interactive Film & Media (IFM) Conference since 2013.

  • Presents a work-in-progress paper for the IFM Conference.

  • Purpose: “Give back” by analyzing the very works premiered at IFM.

• Data set: 33 research-creation projects (multiple authors per project) showcased between 2021 – 2025.

  • Earlier years (2013–2014) lacked creator showcases, so not included in corpus.

• Overarching goal: Map medium and theme tendencies to understand how interactivity operates as:

  • Storytelling technique.

  • Philosophical & political gesture.

  • Method of "re-worlding" reality.

Land & Positional Acknowledgement

• Presentation delivered from Tkaronto (Toronto):

  • Traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Anishinaabeg, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee & Wendat peoples.

  • Covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.

• Significance: Centers Indigenous presence before discussing media that often tackles decolonial questions.

Theoretical Framework

• Primary thinker: Édouard (Edmond) Couchot – French philosopher of cinema & digital aesthetics.

  • Key ideas:

  • Virtualité médiation symbolique interactive: Post-representational regime where images are procedural, open-ended & co-constructed.

  • "Le\;virtuel\;est\;une\;réalité\;en\;devenir" – The virtual is reality in becoming.

  • Simulation dynamique: Reality enacted via user participation rather than mimicry.

• Supplementary discourses: Affect theory, agency studies, embodied cognition, feminist & decolonial media studies.

• Core propositions

  • Interactivity privileges process > product, relation > representation, sensation > simulation.

  • Interfaces externalize mental processes; this can be reductive (cf. Lev Manovich) yet also redistributes epistemic power.

  • Interactive “images” are engines of participatory world-making rather than passive representations.

Methodology & Corpus Overview

• Approach: Panoramic mapping instead of individual case studies.

  • Identify emergent patterns in how media form structures user engagement and knowledge production.

• Two macro taxonomies devised:

  1. Six media categories (form-first lens)

  2. Six thematic constellations (content-first lens)

• Media & theme lists intentionally non-isomorphic (projects can appear in multiple thematic clusters but only one formal cluster).

Six Media Categories (Form-Centric)

1. Web-Based Interactive Documentaries (WBD)

• Dominant mode in corpus; leverage hyperlinks, branching paths, annotated maps.

• Traits: Distributed authorship, modular storytelling, situated knowledge.

• Sample projects (2021–2025):

  • Exposed | PaperNest | Corona Hicus | Campus Reboot

  • Peanut in Living Room | Counterpublic | Somos Moliares | Queer Representation Matters | Water and Smoke

2. Virtual Reality & 360° Immersive Works (VR/360)

• Employ spatial sound, body-scale POVs, temporal suspension.

• Blend documentary realism with speculative design.

• Projects: A Fiorari | Figure Fear Grove | Virtual Acropolis & Memory Eternal | Future of Houses | Santa Lucia de Mendola

3. Augmented Reality & Locative Media (AR/LM)

• AR framed as situated epistemology not mere novelty.

• Enable protest pedagogy, geo-linked narratives.

• Projects: Monument Public Address System AR (Australia) | Arcite (Montreal) | For Real to Virtual (Espírito Santo, Brazil)

4. Experimental Artistic Games (Art-Games)

• Reject entertainment-first logic; embrace slow, ethical, embodied play.

• Projects: Scapegoat | Corridor | Lucid | Assemblage | Hawk & Puma

5. Multimodal & Mixed-Media Installations (MMI)

• Fuse analog + digital, performance, archive; treat space as ritual.

• Projects: Receipts | Deglobalized | The Great Tit Is a Bird | Everything We Did | The Circle Project | Audaïming | Runners Club

6. Essayistic & Poetic Moving-Image Works (E/P Film)

• Emphasize duration, glitch, montage, voice-over, parafiction.

• Viewer positioned as co-present witness rather than consumer.

• Projects: Diary Project | Drink the River | The New Virtuality

Six Thematic Constellations (Content-Centric)

1. Incarceration, Confinement & Justice

• Tactics: Non-linear narratives, analog games, immersive VR.

• Justice rendered ambiguous & embodied; resistance reframed via transnational feminisms.

2. Climate & Multispecies Futures

• Shift from catastrophic representation to immersive, sensory pedagogy.

• Human decentered; speculative eco-futures foregrounded.

3. Indigeneity & Decoloniality

• Media as site of epistemic refusal & resurgence.

• Prioritize ritual, opacity, pluriversal design, land-based storytelling.

4. Memory, Grief & Living Archives

• Memory treated as fragmented & participatory.

• Archives rendered polyvocal; remembering framed as ongoing, contested process.

5. Urban Entanglements & Housing Justice

• Cities read as palimpsests; AR/LM reinscribe erased histories.

• Housing framed as political struggle & living archive.

6. Queer, Gendered & Fragmented Identities

• Identity explored as fluid, performative & speculative.

• Use glitch, fragmentation, refusal to resist normative visibility.

Cross-Cutting Analytical Insights

• Narrative Form

  • Move from linear closure ➔ modular, cyclical, polyvocal storytelling.

  • Aligns with ethics of listening, witnessing & co-presence.

• Embodiment & the "Machine of Sensations"

  • Projects solicit multisensory responses: haptics, spatial audio, temporal disjunctions.

  • Empathy not guaranteed; affect arises via rhythm & texture.

• Authorship & Agency

  • Users become co-constructors; interactivity redistributes narrative control.

  • Contrasts with fiction’s closed authorial mastery.

• Media as Epistemic Framework

  • Platforms (Bitsy, Unreal Engine, projection mapping, etc.) are methodological, not neutral.

  • They co-constitute logic & politics of each work.

• Political Stakes

  • Many works embed decolonial, feminist, queer commitments that re-world rather than merely critique.

  • Foster speculative, reparative futures and open forms (formulverts).

Implications & Future Directions

• Research-creation poised to deepen hybrid, transdisciplinary praxis across academia, art & community.

• Expect:

  • Greater emphasis on situated, relational media responding to unfolding crises (housing, climate, education).

  • Revival of oral, vernacular & land-based storytelling, especially in diasporic contexts.

  • Continued resistance to commodifying logics of control & closure; valorize ambiguity, slowness & multiplicity.

Conclusion

• Interactivity = relational condition that modulates reality rather than mirrors it.

• IFM corpus demonstrates interactivity as:

  • Politics of attention.

  • Poetics of participation.

  • Method of speculative co-worlding.

• By privileging process, sensation & collective agency, these 33 projects model counter-methodologies that keep space open for justice, refusal & becoming.

• Key takeaway: “We do not just tell stories; we build worlds—and ways of knowing—together.”

Introduction

Summary: The introduction to Hudson Mora's "work-in-progress" paper for the IFM Conference outlines its purpose: to analyze 33 research-creation projects from 2021–2025 presented at IFM, which Mora has chaired since 2013. The core goal is to map medium and theme tendencies to understand interactivity as a storytelling technique, a philosophical/political gesture, and a method of "re-worlding" reality. Early years of the conference (2013-2014) are excluded due to a lack of creator showcases.

Critique: The introduction is clear and concise, effectively setting the stage for the paper's scope and ambition. It immediately establishes the speaker's authority and connection to the subject matter (chairing the conference). The statement of the overarching goal is compelling, framing interactivity as a multifaceted concept beyond mere technical function. The justification for the data set's time frame is also logical. The only potential minor improvement could be a brief explicit statement on why analyzing these specific works is significant beyond "giving back," perhaps hinting at filling a gap in the understanding of interactive media trends.

Main Sections (Theoretical Framework, Methodology & Corpus Overview, Six Media Categories, Six Thematic Constellations, Cross-Cutting Analytical Insights, Implications & Future Directions)

Summary:

• Theoretical Framework: The paper grounds its analysis in Édouard Couchot's ideas, particularly "virtualité médiation symbolique interactive" and the concept of Le\;virtuel\;est\;une\;réalité\;en\;devenir (the virtual is reality in becoming). It emphasizes interactivity as privilege process over product, relation over representation, and sensation over simulation, positioning interactive "images" as engines of participatory world-making.

• Methodology & Corpus Overview: The approach is a "panoramic mapping" using two non-isomorphic taxonomies: six media categories (form-first) and six thematic constellations (content-first). This allows projects to fit multiple themes but only one formal category.

• Six Media Categories: These include Web-Based Interactive Documentaries (dominant), Virtual Reality & 360° Immersive Works, Augmented Reality & Locative Media, Experimental Artistic Games, Multimodal & Mixed-Media Installations, and Essayistic & Poetic Moving-Image Works. Each category is briefly described with its traits and sample projects.

• Six Thematic Constellations: These themes are Incarceration, Confinement & Justice; Climate & Multispecies Futures; Indigeneity & Decoloniality; Memory, Grief & Living Archives; Urban Entanglements & Housing Justice; and Queer, Gendered & Fragmented Identities. Each is characterized by the tactics used by projects within it.

• Cross-Cutting Analytical Insights: This section synthesizes observations on narrative form (moving from linear to modular/polyvocal), embodiment (multisensory responses, affect via rhythm/texture), authorship & agency (users as co-constructors), media as epistemic framework (platforms are methodological, not neutral), and political stakes (works "re-world" via decolonial, feminist, queer commitments, fostering "open forms" – formulverts).

• Implications & Future Directions: The paper suggests research-creation will deepen hybrid praxis, anticipating greater emphasis on situated media for crises, a revival of oral/vernacular/land-based storytelling, and continued resistance to commodification, valuing ambiguity and multiplicity.

Critique: The main sections are robust and well-structured, moving logically from theoretical grounding to practical categorization and cross-cutting analysis. The inclusion of Couchot provides a strong philosophical backbone, and the core propositions clearly define the paper's stance on interactivity. The two taxonomies (media and theme) are well-defined and provide a comprehensive framework for analysis without being overly rigid (due to the non-isomorphic design). The detailed lists of media categories and thematic constellations, along with sample projects, add significant substance and credibility, demonstrating the breadth of the corpus. The analytical insights effectively bridge the theoretical and empirical, offering nuanced observations on how interactivity functions politically and artistically. The "Implications & Future Directions" section provides a thoughtful look ahead, connecting the study's findings to broader trends and societal challenges. The consistent use of bullet points and clear headings enhances readability. One minor point for critique could be the lack of an explicit discussion on potential challenges or limitations encountered during the "panoramic mapping" methodology, which might add another layer of academic rigor.

Conclusion

Summary: The conclusion reiterates that interactivity is a relational condition that modulates reality rather than simply mirroring it. It summarizes the IFM corpus's demonstration of interactivity as a politics of attention, a poetics of participation, and a method of speculative co-worlding. The 33 projects are framed as models for "counter-methodologies" that foster justice, refusal, and becoming. The key takeaway emphasizes collective world-building and ways of knowing.

Critique: The conclusion effectively summarizes the paper's core arguments and reinforces its central thesis. The phrasing that interactivity "modulates reality rather than mirrors it" is a powerful and concise restatement of the paper's philosophical stance derived from Couchot. It ties together the various threads of the analysis — the political, poetic, and world-making aspects of interactivity — into a cohesive final statement. The emphasis on "counter-methodologies" is a strong call to action/reflection, highlighting the transformative potential of these works. The final takeaway sentence is memorable and impactful, encapsulating the spirit of collaborative knowledge and reality construction. The conclusion provides a satisfying sense of closure while also implying ongoing relevance for research-creation in interactive media.