ELEGTANT: A Tenderly Boring Video Game Cinema Experience
In a 2011 meeting near Paris's Gare du Nord, artists Arnaud and Bertrand Dezoteux discussed with film scholar Dork Zabunyan the intersections of cinema and video games. Zabunyan proposed a study day on March 31, 2011, at Lille's Gare Saint-Sauveur, featuring Gus Van Sant's film Elephant, which Van Sant said was inspired by video games like Tomb Raider. The artists planned a one-hour program before the film, avoiding machinimas, to explore how video games can reconfigure cinematic experience. They focused on Grand Theft Auto IV's Liberty City, where mundane urban life is simulated, allowing players to be passive flâneurs. The program aimed to present a pacified, tenderly boring game experience contrasting with Elephant's violent climax.
Key facts
- Discussion took place in January 2011 near Gare du Nord, Paris.
- Dork Zabunyan organized a study day on March 31, 2011, in Lille.
- Gus Van Sant's Elephant (2003) was screened, inspired by Tomb Raider.
- Arnaud and Bertrand Dezoteux created a one-hour program for the event.
- The program avoided machinimas, focusing on video game specificity.
- Grand Theft Auto IV was used to simulate ordinary urban life.
- The program aimed to offer a pacified, tenderly boring experience.
- The event was one of the first to bring together film academics and game professionals.
Entities
Artists
- Arnaud Dezoteux
- Bertrand Dezoteux
- Dork Zabunyan
- Gus Van Sant
Institutions
- artpress
- Rockstar Games
- Lille 3
- Pôle images Nord-Pas de Calais
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Gare du Nord
- Lille
- Gare Saint-Sauveur
- Liberty City
- New York
Sources
- artpress —