The Outer Limits

Journeys to the farthest reaches of interactive entertainment

- By ALEX SPENCER

Visiting the London Film Festival’s ‘Expanded’ fringe? Oh, it must be The Outer Limits’ birthday! Having written the first edition after visiting 2023’s LFF, the event has become something of an annual check-in. It’s been two years of chasing new experiences, instilling in me the mindset that somewhere not too far away, something new and exciting is always waiting. Which is both a thrilling, and frequently disappointing, way of living your life, since it means opening a lot of doors without being quite sure what will be behind them – and often finding something other than what you’d hoped for.

Anyway, back to Expanded, which this year is a little more geographically and temporally diffuse, so that just one suitable door is available for opening in time for deadline. This is the rather unfortunately named NOWISWHENWEARE (the stars), an art installation consisting of a windowless room, a 496-channel sound system and 4,000 LEDs programmed to sync with the audio. Think of it as a real-life Tetris Effect backdrop – or a three-dimensional, half-hour version of your neighbourhood’s fanciest display of Christmas lights.