July 19, 2026
In this year’s edition, DokuFest expands the festival experience by introducing, for the first time, a program dedicated to virtual reality (VR). Developed at the “Bekim Fehmiu” Theatre, this program invites attendees into new worlds where documentary, animation, interactive art, and technology come together to create stories that don’t just get watched—but are also experienced.
The program features four acclaimed international films, exploring universal themes such as memory, family, climate change, and the aftermath of war.
A Long Goodbye is a poetic and interactive experience that places the audience in the role of Ida, a 72-year-old pianist living with dementia. Through animation and interaction, visitors experience fragments of memories, love, loss, and the ways in which memory changes and fades over time.
The Dollhouse takes you into a world built of paper, where Juniper, a nine-year-old girl, grapples with feelings of guilt about how her family treated Magnolia, the woman who had come from afar to work as a cleaner in their home. This sensitive narrative turns the visitor into part of a journey toward empathy, reflection, and forgiveness.
Out of Nowhere addresses one of the greatest challenges of our time: climate change. Following the story of Anna, a resident of Hallein in Austria, the experience brings back memories of the devastating floods of 2021 and shows how alluvial forests, marshlands, and wetland areas can play a decisive role in protecting communities in the face of increasingly extreme weather.
Battlefield is a powerful experience inspired by the Battle of Verdun during the First World War. Through the eyes of Julien, a soldier only 20 years old, the audience experiences the brutality of war, the destruction of nature, and the scars conflicts leave on people and on the land. The work blends history, emotion, and technology to offer a deep reflection on collective memory and the consequences of war.
DokuFest’s VR program demonstrates the potential of immersive technologies to tell stories in entirely new ways, placing the audience at the center of the narrative. At the “Bekim Fehmiu” Theatre, visitors will have the opportunity to explore these four unique experiences, which broaden the way we understand cinema, documentary, and contemporary storytelling.
