Chantal Harvey spends much of her real life in virtual worlds. The prolific Dutch filmmaker has produced 200 'virtual movies' in the past four years. She hopes to introduce others to this style of filmmaking at the Ma Machinima International Festival (MMIF) opening in Amsterdam on June 17, 2011.
The two-day film festival will screen some 70 machinima (a contraction of machine and cinema), movies made in 3D online virtual worlds such as Second Life, World of Warcraft, Moviestorm and Sims.
"The longest film is just under 20 minutes and the shortest one is 39 seconds," says Harvey, who founded the festival in 2009. "I didn't set any rules [for the films submitted], except that you have to own the copyright and give me your best work."
Machinima: Movies with Bite
Machinimatography could be regarded as the movie industry’s great equaliser: it is inexpensive to produce and filmmakers are limited only by their software skills and imaginations. The result is often extremely detailed but frequently bizarre characters, sets and plot lines.
This does not mean that the films are not entertaining, fun and occasionally touching. Like Tom Jantol’s Dear Fairy, featuring a lipstick-wearing, type writer-wielding Pinocchio; or Toxic Menges’ Little Red Riding Hood. "You might think it's a fairy tale, but it has a bite to it at the end," says Harvey. "Then there’s Rose Borchovski's Susa Bubble. Her films are graphically very beautiful. She approaches things from a different angle. You either love it or you hate it; there's nothing in between.”
Film Festival Without Awards
In contrast to the flights of fancy it will be screening, the Ma Machinima International Festival is refreshingly low-key. There are no contests and no awards.
"When I started in machinima four years ago I entered a lot of contests. I found them very upsetting because in many contests you'll have one winner and 20 losers," Harvey explains. "My main aim is to create a platform for machinima and to bring the film-makers together, so I won't do any awards. I really want to keep [the film festival] open for everybody and it's working. This is the third year I'm doing this and it's getting bigger every year."
Movie Screenings in Second Life
Due to their short running time, the movies will be screened in blocks. Real-life screenings will take place at Club Karlsson, a private club and self-described 'center for counter culture' on Amsterdam's historic Canal Belt, with a number of filmmakers in attendance. True to the festival's name, however (which is borrowed from Harvey's nickname 'mama-chinima'), films will also be streamed live online and in Second Life.
"We've got a huge virtual theatre in Second Life which was built by a real-life Belgian architect," says Harvey. "It really beautiful. It's very toned down in colour, almost black and white with some silver in it. The films play there on big screens and the avatars sit in a circle."
Nearly 900 avatars attended last year's event, and Harvey is hoping for more this year. "Being part of a festival like this is unique. And it's free."
Ma Machinima International Festival runs from June 17 to June 18 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Free admission. Program and screenings details can be found on the film festival’s website.
Cecily Layzell - Cecily Layzell is a food and travel writer and founder of restaurant review site www.eat-amsterdam.com.
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