Jury for the IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction

Shari Frilot is a filmmaker, programmer and curator who joined the programming team of Sundance in 1998 and currently focuses on dramatic features as well as films that push the boundaries of conventional storytelling. She is also the curator and driving creative force behind New Frontier at Sundance, a program highlighting work that expands cinema culture through the convergence of film, art and new media technology. As Co-Director of Programming for Outfest from 1998-2001, she founded the Platinum section, introducing cinematic installation and performance to the festival. From 1993-1996, Frilot served as Festival Director of MIX: The New York Experimental Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. During that time, she also co-founded the first gay Latin American film festivals MIX Brasil and MIX México. As a filmmaker, King received multiple grants from institutions including the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Media Arts Foundation. Her curatorial work has garnered a Webby, multiple Emmy awards, and the Peabody Visionary award.

Samantha King is Head of Programme at VIVE Arts (HTC), a global arts initiative supporting artists and cultural organizations to experiment with immersive technology. Previously she was Senior Producer of Audience Labs at the Royal Opera House, an innovation program bringing together artists and immersive technology to create contemporary opera and ballet experiences. She has also produced exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and Museum of the Moving Image in New York. She specializes in producing multilayered, interdisciplinary experiences and exhibitions that explore creative innovation using digital tools. She has worked with a range of artists, designers, technologists and creatives, and with partners across sectors including Google Creative Lab, UKRI, the Smithsonian, Musée d’Orsay, National Gallery, and Art Basel. King is a member of the British Interactive Media Association Immersive Tech Council, on the advisory board of development program Immersive Arts, and a trustee of the Manchester-based arts organization Abandon Normal Devices.

Chafik Benhmidouch is an autodidact theatre maker, director, and producer with a distinct creative vision. His work challenges the elitism of institutional art, striving to make politically relevant themes not only conceptually strong but accessible and engaging for diverse audiences. One of his signature projects, Diner Obscure (2018), fused night culture with theatre, creating spaces for subcultures often overlooked by mainstream art institutions. This approach inspired him to found DOOR Foundation in 2019, with a mission to produce high-quality, accessible art through interdisciplinary and site-specific performances. Under his leadership, DOOR Foundation launched a residency program in 2020, hosting artists from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines. The foundation has also produced groundbreaking works like The Circle of Truth (2024), exploring our complex relationship with truth in the post-truth era. His earlier production, The Living Museum, represented the Netherlands at South by Southwest festival in 2018 in Austin, Texas.