The 2020 edition of the MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL will be followed by the release of a printed bilingual (English and Italian) publication later this year featuring critical contributions on machinima. The book/catalog will be edited by Matteo Bittanti and Gemma Fantacci.
Scholars, critics, artists, and curators are invited to submit an extended abstract (between 500-1000 words excluding references) or full papers to matteo.bittanti@iulm.it either in English or Italian.
Timeline:
April 15, 2020 Abstract submission deadline (full papers are also accepted);
May 15, 2020: Notification of acceptance/rejection sent to authors;
July 1, 2020: Full paper submission deadline;
Sept 1, 2020: Review deadline;
Oct 1, 2020: Deadline for edited papers.
Possible topics include:
Vernacular machinima vs. avantgarde machinima
Exhibition & screening of machinima
Art historical perspectives on machinima
Recording and sharing of in-game performances
The evolution of in-game video editors
Critical analysis of an artist's oeuvre/work
The changing audiences of machinima
Machinima as remix culture
We are delighted to announce the full program of the 2020 MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL.
The event takes place between March 09-13 2020 at IULM University in two separate locations: the Contemporary Exhibition Hall and the Sala dei 146, both located in the IULM Open Space building. Both venues are open to the public, but we kindly encourage attendees to register for the screening on Friday March 13 2020 in the Sala dei 146 as seats are limited.
Please note that each day features a different program. The festival is bookended by two sections titled GAME VIDEO ESSAY A (March 09 2020) and B (March 13 2020), after a successful run in the 2019 event of the4 same title. From Tuesday until Thursday we will present an indepth look at four artists whose daring, groundbreaking, unclassifiable work has redefined the aesthetics of machinima: Larry Achiampong, David Blandy, Jacky Connolly, and Oscar Wagenmans in the context of the Contemporary Exhibition Hall.
The festival concludes on Friday March 13 with The Weird, The Eerie, and The Unreal, which includes a selection of the most impressive works submitted this year and evaluated by our international jurors. During the screening, we will announce the 2020 Critics’ Award.
SCHEDULE
Monday March 09 2020
GAME VIDEO ESSAY A
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Free Entry
Tuesday March 10 2020
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Free Entry
Wednesday March 11 2020
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Free Entry
Thursday March 12 2020
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Free Entry
Friday March 13 2020
GAME VIDEO ESSAY B
Sala dei 146 (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Free Entry
Friday March 13 2020
THE WEIRD, THE EERIE, THE UNREAL
Sala dei 146 (IULM OPEN SPACE)
Siamo lieti di annunciare il programma completo del MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL 2020.
L'evento si svolge dal 09 al 13 marzo 2020 presso l'Università IULM in due sedi separate: la Contemporary Exhibition Hall e la Sala dei 146, entrambe situate nell'edificio IULM Open Space. Le sedi sono aperte al pubblico, ma invitiamo i visitatori a registrarsi per la proiezione di venerdì 13 marzo 2020 nella Sala dei 146, poiché i posti sono limitati. Si prega di notare che ogni giorno è previsto un programma diverso. Il festival è incorniciato da GAME VIDEO ESSAY A (09 marzo 2020) e B (13 marzo 2020), dopo il successo dell'esperienza nel 2019.
Da martedì a giovedì presenteremo uno sguardo approfondito su quattro artisti il cui lavoro innovativo ha ridefinito l'estetica del machinima: Larry Achiampong, David Blandy, Jacky Connolly e Oscar Wagenmans nel contesto della Contemporary Exhibition Hall.
Il festival si conclude venerdì 13 marzo con The Weird, The Eerie e The Unreal, che comprende una selezione delle opere più significative presentate quest'anno e valutate dai nostri giurati internazionali. Durante la proiezione, verrà annunciato il Premio della Critica 2020.
CALENDARIO
Lunedì 09 marzo 2020
GAME VIDEO ESSAY A
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Ingresso gratuito
Martedì 10 marzo 2020
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Ingresso gratuito
Mercoledì 11 marzo 2020
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Ingresso gratuito
Giovedì 11 marzo 2020
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Ingresso gratuito
Venerdì 13 marzo 2020
GAME VIDEO ESSAY B
Sala dei 146 (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Ingresso gratuito
Venerdì 13 marzo 2020
THE WEIRD, THE EERIE, THE UNREAL
Sala dei 146 (IULM OPEN SPACE)
TRAVELOGUE is a survey of audiovisual artworks made with or inspired by video games. Using machinima and interactive installations, fifteen artists examine the virtual automobile as medium, message, technological commodity, status symbol, interface, and prosthetics. Created through a process of appropriation and remix, these works lie at the intersection of fiction and documentation, performance and simulation, video art and experimental cinema.
This book is an extended catalogue of the exhibition TRAVELOGUE that I curated between September 7- 11 2016, in Mantua, Italy as part of Festivaletteratura 2016, featuring artworks by Max Almy and Teri Yarbrow, Hugo Arcier, Dave Ball, William Beaudine, Bob-Bicknell Knight, COLL.EO, Clint Enns, Matthew Hillock, JODI, Kristin Lucas, Victor Morales, Leonardo Sang, Palle Torsson. Available in bilingual edition (English and Italian) TRAVELOGUE shares the same format as MACHINIMA. 32 conversazioni sull'arte del videogioco, which was released in 2017.
You can purchase a copy of TRAVELOGUE on Blurb or Amazon US. It will soon be available on Amazon Italy.
"Machinima – a portmanteau of machine and cinema – the process of using real-time computer graphics engines to create a cinematic production [...] has existed for as long as in-game recording has been possible." Matt Turner aka Lost Futures provides a historical and critical overview of machinima, a digital form of filmmaking that lies at the intersection of experimental cinema and video art that began with Miltos Manetas’ Miracle, for Sight & Sound magazine. A must read.
MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL
UNCANNY
15 marzo 2019/march 15 2019
18.00 - 20:00
SALA DEI 146 - IULM OPEN SPACE
UNIVERSITÀ IULM
VIA CARLO BO, 7
20143 MILANO, ITALIA
This event showcases artistic excellence in contemporary digital image culture and experimental new media art through several on-screen works. The MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL is the only event in Italy solely dedicated to machinima, a genre of digital video art created by appropriating and manipulating video games that emerged in the mid-1990s.
The theme of the 2019 program is the UNCANNY, the perceptual phenomenon caused by experiences that are at once familiar and alien. Haunting hallucinations pervade an eclectic program in which glitches, shocks, and disturbing repetitions become a metaphor for societal chaos in the age of algorithms, surveillance capitalism, and artificial intelligence. These disquieting narratives question the relationship between authenticity and performance, identity and self preservation in everyday (digital) life. Two longer documentary works examine the unexpected side (effects) of virtual gaming and the current fascination with technology’s dystopian impact on public and private life.
The 2019 lineup includes an impressive roster of short films and longer works by national and international artists and filmmakers such as Lisa Carletta (Paradise Found), COLL.EO (Reasonable), Joseph DeLappe (Elegy), Kara Gut (Resonant Flash, Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis (Swatted), Chris Keric (Dynamic Kinetic Sculptures), Luigi Marrone (Avatar_Ascension), Luca Miranda (Alma), Leonhard Müellner (Operation Jane Walk), Bram Ruiter (Perpetual Spawning), Brenton Smith (Crashforms Studies), Petra Szeman (How to Enter a Fictional Realms), Twee Whistler (Edgy Time with Mom), and Brent Watanabe (Possessions). The vast majority of these artworks have never been shown in Italy before.
An international panel of critics, curators, and academics contributed to the selection and evaluation process, including Valentino Catricalà (Artistic Director of the Media Art Festival in Rome), Marco De Mutiis (Digital curator at Fotomuseum Winterthur), Stefano Locati (member of the Scientific Committee of the Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival in Venice and Director of the Asian Film Festival in Bologna), Henry Lowood (Curator for the Germanic Collections and the History of Science and Technology Collections at Stanford University), and Jenna NG (Professor of Cinema and Interactive Media at the University of York).
Among the festival’s highlights is Jenna NG’s keynote talk on March 13 2019 as part of the ongoing GAME TALKS series at IULM. Titled MACHINIMA AND THE ALLURE OF EPHEMERALITY: GAMEPLAY, LIVE STREAMS, AND DIGITAL CULTURE, the talk will address the explosion of interest in the live streaming of gameplay as illustrated by the popularity of Twitch, whose latest number of daily active users has reached 15 million, as well as other major platforms such as YouTube Gaming, Mixer, and Facebook Live. Specifically, the talk will link the current phenomenon of video game live streams with machinima and its origins in game demos and captured video game play, arguing not only for live streams to be the next logical evolution for machinima, but also for a critical theorisation of screen media that pursues a realist trajectory, one which potentially works its way from neorealist cinema to machine vision.
Sponsored by the City of Milan, Department of Digital Transformation and Public Services, the Milano Digital Week celebrates the driving forces that are reshaping work, leisure, and learning. By highlighting the interplay behind production and consumption made possible by digital technology, MDW connects citizens, companies, institutions, universities, and research centers.
The MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL was curated by Matteo Bittanti (Artistic Director), presented by Gemma Fantacci (Communication Manager), and organized by the Master of Arts in Game Design at IULM University. Screenings take place in Sala dei 146 located in the IULM Open Space. Admission is free upon registration.
La rassegna presenta lo stato dell’arte della cultura visiva digitale contemporanea e la new media art sperimentale. Il MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL è l’unico evento italiano interamente dedicato al machinima, un genere di video arte prodotta attraverso l’appropriazione e manipolazione dei videogiochi che si è affermata a partire dalla seconda metà degli anni Novanta.
Il tema dell’edizione 2019 è UNCANNY, il fenomeno percettivo che contraddistingue esperienze insieme familiari e anomale, declinato all’interno di un programma eclettico in cui glitch, shock e inquietanti ripetizioni alludono al crescente senso di smarrimento sociale nell’era degli algoritmi, dei Big Data e dell’intelligenza artificiale. In queste opere, lo spazio ludico genera narrazioni alternative, sollecitando una riflessione sul rapporto tra autenticità e performance, identità e preservazione del sé. Due mediometraggi esaminano gli effetti collaterali del videogioco e la fascinazione contemporanea per la dimensione distopica della tecnologia.
Il programma dell’edizione 2019 include una selezione di cortometraggi e mediometraggi realizzati da artisti nazionali e internazionali come Lisa Carletta (Paradise Found), COLL.EO Reasonable), Joseph DeLappe (Elegy), Kara Gut (Resonant Flash, Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis (Swatted), Chris Keric (Dynamic Kinetic Sculptures), Luigi Marrone (Avatar_Ascension), Luca Miranda (Alma), Leonhard Müellner (Operation Jane Walk), Bram Ruiter (Perpetual Spawning), Brenton Smith (Crashforms Studies), Petra Szeman (How to Enter a Fictional Realms), Twee Whistler (Edgy Time with Mom), e Brent Watanabe (Possessions). La maggior parte di questi audiovisivi sono inediti in Italia.
Al processo di selezione ha contribuito una giuria internazionale composta da critici, curatori e accademici: Valentino Catricalà (Direttore artistico del Media Art Festival di Roma), Marco De Mutiis (Digital curator del Fotomuseum Winterthur), Stefano Locati (membro del Comitato scientifico del Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival di Venezia e Co-direttore dell’Asian Film Festival di Bologna), Henry Lowood (Curatore per la Germanic Collections e l’History of Science and Technology Collections all’Università di Stanford) e Jenna NG (Professore di cinema e media interattivi all'Università di York).
Tra gli eventi correlati spicca il keynote di Jenna NG nell’ambito dei GAME TALKS all’Università IULM che si terrà il 13 marzo 2019. Intitolato IL MACHINIMA E IL FASCINO DELL'EFFIMERO: GAMEPLAY, LIVE STREAMS E CULTURA DIGITALE, l’intervento esamina l’esplosione di interesse per il live streaming videoludico come attestato dalla popolarità di Twitch, il cui numero di utenti attivi su base quotidiana ha ormai superato i quindici milioni e a cui si aggiungono piattaforme come YouTube Gaming, Mixer e Facebook Live. Secondo NG, il fenomeno dei live stream dei videogiochi è legato a doppio filo al machinima e alle origini della cultura demo e dei replay. Per questo motivo, la ricercatrice definisce il live stream l’evoluzione diretta del machinima. NG propone inoltre un inquadramento teorico dei media a schermo che persegue l’imperativo estetico del realismo illuminando le relazioni tra il cinema neorealista e la machine vision.
Promossa dal Comune di Milano, Assessorato alla Trasformazione Digitale e Servizi Pubblici, la Milano Digital Week propone le più interessanti iniziative che stanno trasformando il lavoro, il tempo libero, la formazione e le dinamiche della progettazione e della produzione attraverso le tecnologie digitali. Un’opportunità di riflessione e confronto per cittadini, aziende, istituzioni, università e centri di ricerca.
Curato da Matteo Bittanti (Direttore artistico) e presentato da Gemma Fantacci (Direttore della Comunicazione), il MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL 2019 è stato organizzato dal Master of Arts in Game Design dell’Università IULM. Le proiezioni si svolgono nella Sala dei 146 dello IULM Open Space. L’ingresso è gratuito previa registrazione.
