In June I will be taking a project proposal to the Doc/Fest Alternate Realities Market. Building on the Computer Petting Zoo and the work I'm currently finishing following my residency in Japan, I'm proposing a long-form interactive documentary that resembles an 8-bit RPG.

Cis Penance: Transgender Lives in Wait

An interactive documentary based on interviews with transgender people in the UK, focusing on experiences of being in wait – waiting for the right time to come out, waiting for the approval of medical and administrative authorities, and waiting for changes to happen both physically and culturally.

Using the technology of a lo-fi videogame, this project visually represents an aspect of our social infrastructure that is never seen in physical form, and rarely reported on in the media, yet has a huge impact on the daily lives of thousands of people: an NHS waiting list. This interactive documentary centers on the image of a long queue of people, using everyday experiences of waiting to visualise the waiting list, alongside other aspects of the transgender experience. Users are invited to talk to many different trans people with diverse experiences, in interactive text-based dialogues based on real interviews.

The Alternate Realities Market is an intensive networking event that links content creators with commissioners and funders. I’m hoping to talk about Cis Penance with people who commission interactive content for journalistic organisations, people from funding organisations, and people programming festivals and distribution platforms.

Link: Meet Market and Alternate Realities Market Projects