Milan Machinima Festival 2020: Machinima as Art and Critique
The Milan Machinima Festival's third edition, part of Milano Digital Week, is being held online until May 30, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Curated by Matteo Bittanti, the festival showcases works from 25 artists hailing from 13 different countries, divided into six sections, one of which is "The Weird, the Eerie and the Unreal," inspired by Mark Fisher's 2017 publication. The featured works explore themes such as politics, society, gender, and the intersection of reality and the virtual world. Highlights include "Heavy Thoughts" by Jonne Hansson, "Hidden Conflicts" by Jona Kleinlein, "How to Disappear: Deserting Battlefield" by Total Refusal, "Ariadne" by Jacky Connolly, and "Procedural: Zodiac and the Digital Cityscape" by Conor Bateman. The festival partners with GAMESCENES and IULM University, and an online supplement named VRAL will be launched on June 5, 2020.
Key facts
- Third edition of Milan Machinima Festival runs until May 30, 2020
- Event is part of Milano Digital Week
- Festival is entirely online due to COVID-19 pandemic
- Curated by Matteo Bittanti
- 25 artists from 13 countries participate
- Works are divided into six sections: Game Video Essay A, Game Video Essay B, three In Focus sections, and The Weird, the Eerie and the Unreal
- Thematic selection inspired by Mark Fisher's 2017 book The Weird and the Eerie
- Notable works include Heavy Thoughts by Jonne Hansson, Hidden Conflicts by Jona Kleinlein, How to Disappear: Deserting Battlefield by Total Refusal, Ariadne by Jacky Connolly, and Procedural: Zodiac and the Digital Cityscape by Conor Bateman
- How to Disappear: Deserting Battlefield was presented at the Berlinale
- Festival organized with GAMESCENES Art in the age of video games and Master of Arts in Game Design at IULM University
- Supplement VRAL resumes June 5, 2020
- Both festival and VRAL will have catalogs
- Gemma Fantacci is communication manager and presenter
Entities
Artists
- Matteo Bittanti
- Gemma Fantacci
- Jonne Hansson
- Jona Kleinlein
- Jacky Connolly
- Conor Bateman
- Victor Morales
- Aleksandar Radan
- SaveMe Oh
- Mark Fisher
- David Fincher
- Hunter Hunt-Hendrix
- Total Refusal
Institutions
- Milan Machinima Festival
- Milano Digital Week
- GAMESCENES Art in the age of video games
- Master of Arts in Game Design
- IULM University
- Berlinale
- Electronic Arts
- Artribune
Locations
- Milan
- Italy
- New York City
- United States
- Sweden
- Mediterranean