Traversing the Mist premiered at IDFA DocLab 2023, and is the conclusion of the Mist trilogy by Taiwanese VR director Tung-Yen CHOU. In the Mist was a 360 video, Gazing, in the Mist was a mixed reality installation, and Traversing the Mist is an interactive, multiplayer 6-DoF VR installation. Here is a synopsis “Step into the body of a young Taiwanese man to roam the steamy rooms and red-lit corridors of a surreal gay sauna—with thin mattresses, shared showers and lockers holding secrets. Everywhere you go, you encounter the same nude men with identical faces. And when you look in the mirror in this animated VR, you see all your clothes—except for your underwear—vanish.

“Walking further into this dimly lit network of corridors—watching, and being watched—you navigate your way through what feels like an erotic underground labyrinth. This concluding part of The Mist Trilogy by director Tung-yen Chou, following In the Mist (2020) and Gazing, In the Mist (2022) is a journey into a hidden world, from the graffiti-covered elevator to the darkrooms where you find the bodies with the help of a flashlight.

“In the real world, meanwhile, you are walking around a large open area, enhancing the physical feeling of being in a real sauna.”

I had a chance to catch up with Yen in Amsterdam at IDFA DocLab after his premiere of the conclusion of his trilogy to talk about his journey in producing these series of immersive experiences exploring the culture of gay saunas in Taiwan.

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