REGRESSION (TRILOGY)
Digital video, color, sound, 16’ 32”, 2020
June 5 - June 18 2020
VRAL
Introduced by Matteo Bittanti
Several cinematic productions of the 1920s and 1930s became known as city symphonies. Some, like The Man with a Movie Camera (1929) by Dziga Vertov or Berlin, Symphony of a Great City (1927) by Walter Ruttmann were explicitly avant-garde in style. Their aesthetics were influenced by modern art, with an emphasis on fast cutting and pulsating scores. Others were more contemplative and ruminative, the equivalent of a cinematic dérive. All of them portrayed and celebrated the life, rhythms, and activities of urban environments. Today, several filmmakers are creating visual poems extolling the virtues of Los Santos and Liberty City. Like their predecessors, these machinima are situated halfway between the documentary and the avant-garde film insofar as they showcase virtual vistas with a style reminiscent of a longstanding cinematic tradition. With Regression, Jordy Veenstra portrays different facets of Grand Theft Auto V’s state of San Andreas, highlighting both the idiosyncrasies of simulations as well as the act of travelling without moving.
Jordy Veenstra is a video editor, motion graphics designer, 2D animator, and experimental filmmaker based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. His works connect art and narratives with technology or software through the medium of experimental film. His work often examines overlooked social, artistic or personal issues.
From May 25th until the 30th 2020, the work of 25 different artists from 13 nations are exhibited online in 6 different programs. Click here to see the full lineup. Most of these works have never been presented in Italy before.
An official event of Milano Digital Week, the MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL is organized in collaboration with GAMESCENES. Art in the age of video games and the M.A. in Game Design at IULM University. A follow-up to the 2016 exhibition GAME VIDEO/ART. A SURVEY, the festival brings to Milan idiosyncratic video works that lie at the intersection of video art, cinema, and digital games.
The 2020 MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL is presented by FANTAGEMMA, Gemma Fantacci’s alter ego.
IN BETWEEN IDENTITIES
digital video, color, sound, 8’ 50”, 2015
May 8 - May 21 2020
Introduced by Matteo Bittanti
In an ersatz Los Angeles permeated by a pervasive sense of dread, mysterious figures confront their own meaninglessness. Scantily dressed, completely naked or donning fur coats, men and women seem disoriented as they try to see more, see better or see nothing at all. Some even temporarily blind themselves by placing slices of cucumber over their eyes. At once recognizable and abstract, these cartoon-like characters are not pathetic, but rather apathetic. The viewer indulges in scopophilic pleasures as they perform mundane acts, like watching themselves in the mirror or taking a photo. It seems harmless, even comical, and yet one feels it could suddenly turn into a nightmare.
Aleksandar Radan was born in Offenbach am Main in 1988 and studied art at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Offenbach. His work is concerned with the digital medium, especially video games, which he appropriates, manipulates, and subverts. Recurrent themes include the unpredictable ruptures in otherwise predesigned behaviors and environments, the aesthetics of simulation, and the artist’s role in the age of algorithms. Radan’s practice includes experimental film/video, installation and performance. His works have been featured at multiple venues, including the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and the International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen
We are happy to announce that the 2020 edition of the MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL - which was postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic - will indeed take place. And sooner than later.
From Monday 25 till Saturday May 30 2020, the entire program will be fully available on the Festival website. This year, the work of 25 artists from 13 countries will be presented in 6 sections: GAME VIDEO ESSAY A, GAME VIDEO ESSAY B, THE WEIRD, THE EERIE, AND THE UNREAL plus three special programs (IN FOCUS).
The MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL is part of the revamped Milano Digital Week 2020.
Siamo felici di annunciare che l’edizione 2020 del MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL precedentemente posticipata per via della perdurante pandemia COVID-19, si svolgerà anche quest’anno.
Da lunedì 25 a sabato 30 maggio, l’intero programma sarà infatti interamente disponibile sul sito del festival. Il programma dell’edizione 2020 include opere realizzate da 25 artisti provenienti da 13 nazioni suddivise in 6 sezioni: GAME VIDEO ESSAY A, GAME VIDEO ESSAY B, THE WEIRD, THE EERIE, AND THE UNREAL e tre approfondimenti (IN FOCUS).
Il MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL è un evento ufficiale della Milano Digital Week.
RAPID TRANSIT: PREFACE
digital video, color, sound, 13’, 2020
Created by Victor Morales. Music: Daniel Dobson. Voices: Modesto Jimenez and Christine Schisano. Written by William Burns.
April 25 - May 7 2020
VRAL
Introduced by Matteo Bittanti
WORLD PREMIERE
What is it like to ride the New York City subway thirty years from now? Victor Morales predicts that most travellers will wear VR/AR displays combined with electric stimulants or lectrics. But the subway itself has not changed much nor its rituals: passengers ignore each other while dancers perform to rhythmless soundtracks interrupted by beeps and synthetic shouts popping out of devices like rings and bracelets featuring holograms with hovering capabilities. On a late weekday night, a rider under the influence boards the train, unbeknownst to what is about to happen.
Born in Venezuela and based in New York City since 1991, Victor Morales is a director, performer, and designer. His practice includes theater direction, video design, animation, text, sound design, and digital puppetry. He collaborated on a variety of projects with Chris Kondek (Berlin), Joseph Silovsky (NYC), Jim Findlay (NYC), Findlay/Sandsmark (Norway), and Wolfgang Mitterer (Austria). Since the early aughts, Victor has been using video game engines to create interactive and non-interactive artworks. His multidisciplinary project Esperpento was selected for the Sundance 2019 New Frontier program and received the “Best Immersive and Time Based Art” award at the B3 Biennial at the Buchmesse in Frankfurt, Germany.
