Each year, Sheffield DocFest’s Alternate Realities programme redefines what storytelling means in the 21st century. It has become a showcase for innovation, immersion and empathy – a bold platform where technology and art merge to amplify voices often unheard. In 2025, the theme continues with a moving focus on memory, grief, identity, and resistance. Blending artistic boldness with emotional depth, Alternate Realities 2025 challenges audiences to confront the world – and their place within it.
From explorations of neurodivergent experience to testimonies of state violence, this year’s programme takes visitors into other minds and other lives. DOLLHOUSE for Queer Imaginaries reshapes domestic space into a collective queer utopia. Speechless Witness of a Wandering Tree drags us into the aftermath of repression in Iran. Impulse: Playing with Reality, narrated by Tilda Swinton, dives into the storm of ADHD. These are stories that don’t just want to be heard – they demand to be lived.
But at the heart of it all stands a singular voice. In a landmark moment for the festival, Alternate Realities 2025 features its first-ever solo exhibition – Collateral Echoes, from British-Ghanaian artist and filmmaker Baff Akoto. Born in London and raised in Accra, Akoto is no stranger to the intersection of powerful narrative and cutting-edge form. With a practice spanning still and moving images, digital technologies and performance, he has long explored questions of memory – both human and ecological – and how our futures are shaped by the histories we inherit. Named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow, Akoto’s work has exhibited at prestigious venues such as Whitechapel Gallery and the Institute of Contemporary Arts. His recent accolades include the Main Prize at the Aesthetica Art Prize, a testament to his singular artistic voice and cultural impact. He was recognised for Leave the Edges (2022), an immersive dreamscape that explores the complex ancestries of African diasporic cultural expression.
Winning the Aesthetica Art Prize marked a turning point in Akoto’s career – recognition not just of artistic merit, but of cultural urgency. Aesthetica praised his ability to “visualise the unseen and the unspoken,” a quality in full force in his latest work. With Collateral Echoes, Akoto brings that ethos to Sheffield with an installation that is both searing and tender. Cherie Federico, Director of Aesthetica says: “Supporting Baff Akoto through the Aesthetica Art Prize has been a profound honour. His work embodies the power of art to challenge, transform and connect. Since winning the prize, it’s been incredible to watch his practice evolve – always pushing boundaries, always rooted in deep cultural and emotional intelligence. Collateral Echoes is a vital work, and a testament to why artists like Baff are essential to our collective future.”
Premiering at Site Gallery, Collateral Echoes is an immersive XR experience that confronts the systemic violence against Black and immigrant Britons who have died after police contact since 1969. Yet, it is not simply a catalogue of names or injustices. It is a spiritual reckoning. Using archival imagery, immersive sound design, performance, and powerful voice work – including spoken word from Paapa Essiedu and poetry by the late Benjamin Zephaniah – Akoto weaves a tapestry of collective mourning and remembrance. The installation doesn’t just memorialise those lost; it gives space to the voices of those who live on, bearing the weight of grief and the resilience of joy.
“Collateral Echoes was borne from real systemic and collective pain,” says Akoto. “The kind that happens when the world breaks. Making this work has been a process of hope and empathy. In sharing it for the first time at Site Gallery x DocFest, maybe we can start to heal collectively – instead of looking away.”
And that’s exactly what Alternate Realities – and Sheffield DocFest – continues to do best. In an era where digital experiences often seek to distract or overwhelm, DocFest insists on using immersive media to deepen connection. In choosing to platform Akoto’s work as its first solo exhibition, the festival once again proves that its mission isn’t just about technological spectacle – it’s about using that technology to deepen understanding and provoke transformation.
“Sheffield DocFest is honoured to collaborate with Baff,” says Creative Director Raul Niño Zambrano. “His work consistently embodies creativity, innovation, and bold artistic vision. From pitching at MeetMarket to advising our programme, Baff has been a vital part of our journey. Collateral Echoes is a profound testament to what Alternate Realities can achieve – a singular work of art, yet a shared act of remembrance.”
As immersive technology continues to evolve, artists like Akoto show us that it is not only the future that matters – but how we honour the past and reckon with the present. Alternate Realities 2025 invites us into that space: a liminal zone of reflection, innovation, and collective healing. This exhibition meets the moment – channelling collective memory into something deeply personal and politically resonant.
Collateral Echoes is at Site Gallery from 18 June to 13 July at Site Gallery: sitegallery.org
Words: Anna Müller
Image Credits:
All images courtesy of Baff Akoto.
