firestarters is a partner of the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam for the first time this year, which takes place from November 20 to December 2, 2013. In the firestarters DocLab competition, fifteen projects compete against each other for the firestarters IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling. Additionally, from November 21 to 24, IDFA DocLab, De Brakke Grond, and firestarters present the interactive installation 'The Emotional Arcade' by filmmaker Brent Hoff and robot artist Alexander Reben. New technologies such as modified EEG headsets and biometric sensors are part of a series of 'emotional competitions' that boldly confront digital reality. Come to the DocLab Live event on November 22 and play for an HTC One smartphone!

DocLab competition
Fifteen projects have been selected for the firestarters DocLab competition to compete for a prestigious firestarters IDFA DocLab Award. A three-member jury nominates the three makers who applied mobile technology most creatively to tell a documentary story. The winner will be rewarded with an IDFA Award and a cash prize of €2,500. For more information, visit www.doclab.org.

DocLab Live: firestarters presents The Emotional Arcade
The human desire to control our emotions and their physical expression is matched only by the desire to express those emotions. Thanks to technological innovations, it is possible today than ever to make those emotional expressions measurable. What was once seen as magic is now scientifically substantiated, and human emotions can be converted into data via physiological changes in blood vessels, heart rate, body temperature, unconscious stress responses, and other micro-expressions in the facial expression.

In this interactive installation by Brent Hoff and Alexander Reben (commissioned by IDFA DocLab, de Brakke Grond, and firestarters), brain scanners and biometric sensors are combined with carnival-like props for a series of 'emotional competitions'. From the 'Rage Balloons', in which participants are challenged to fill their balloon with a specific emotion as quickly as possible, to the 'Love Competition', in which candidates love something or someone as hard as possible within twenty seconds. A playful interpretation of our endless desire to get to know ourselves and others, and a commentary on the fact that even our most intimate emotions are nowadays mediated via data centers and touchscreens.

The project will be presented as an interactive installation from November 21 to 24 and in the form of an event on November 22 during DocLab Live: firestarters presents Emotional Arcade. Who will be exposed and who will hold their ground? The best participant wins an HTC One smartphone.

firestarters is reserving 10 spots for cinema worshippers, biometric data fanatics, IDFA lovers, and other enthusiasts. You can sign up via www.firestarters.nl.

The Emotional Arcade
Thursday, November 21, 20:00 - 22:00
Friday, November 22, 16:00 - 18:00 (DocLab Live)
Saturday, November 23, 16:00 - 18:00, 20:00 - 22:00
Sunday, November 24, 16:00 - 19:00

Location
The Bracken Ground
Nes 43, 1012 KD Amsterdam

Location
Nes 43, 1012 KD Amsterdam



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