DARKON 
| Directed by: | Andrew Neel, Luke Meyer |
|---|---|
| Country: | U S A |
| Created: | 2006 |
| Runtime: | 89 min. |
| Member: | ovie_ent |
Average rating: 4.25 by 12 users
Film Description:
Synopsis
Skip Lipman, a suburban stay-at-home dad, balances his responsibilities in the real world with his quest to become a hero and topple an empire in the fantasy world of the geo-political live action role playing game known as 'Darkon.' Hundreds of Live Action Role Players grouped into individual countries make up the Darkon realm, and every two weeks they meet for full-contact role-playing battles and adventure quests in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Skip and his followers break an alliance with Mordom, the dominant country in Darkon and form an opposing army, setting off a chain of events that leads to 'world war'. The massive conflict is a fight over honor, integrity, loyalty and freedom, and as the worlds of fantasy and reality collide, Darkon becomes more than just a weekend hobby. In Darkon, we also meet Kenyon, the Mordom leader, who, through his years in the game, emerges in real life as a successful leader; Beckie, a single mother who regains control of her life as the queen of her own fantasy country; Andrew, a direction-less kid who finds motivation on the front-line of a foam-fighting army; and Danny, a life-time outcast desperately searching for acceptance. The film culminates in an epic battle where Skip and his allies have a single chance to defeat their oppressors. But the evil empire has planted traitors into the rebel army, and Skip, weakened, is captured and forced to face his nemesis in one-on-one combat to decide the fate of the Darkon Realm.
Forms: Documentary, Narrative Fiction
Genres: Alternative, Educational, Underground, Fantasy, Independent, Rejected, Sport, Action/Adventure, Reality, Docu-Drama
Niches: Student, Youth/Teen, Children, Mature/Adult
Screenings & Events
SXSW Film Festival
Film Festival
Awards: Audience Award for Best Documentary
Austin, Texas, U S A
March 2006
HOT DOCS
Film Festival
Toronto, Canada
April 2006
Maryland Film Festival
Film Festival
Baltimore, U S A
May 2006
Film Fest Frenzy
Film Festival
Baltimore, U S A
May 2006
Los Angeles Film Festival
Film Festival
Los Angeles, U S A
June 2006
SILVERDOCS
Film Festival
Silver Spring, U S A
June 2006
Brit Doc Festival
Film Festival
Oxford, United Kingdom
July 2006
Melbourne International Film Festival
Film Festival
Melbourne, Australia
August 2006
Docnz Film Festival
Film Festival
Auckland, New Zealand
September 2006
Camden International Film Festival
Film Festival
Camden, U S A
September 2006
Camden International Film Festival
Film Festival
Camden, U S A
September 2006
Sidewalk Film Festival
Film Festival
Birmingham, U S A
September 2006
Festival Nouveau Cinema
Film Festival
Montréal, Canada
October 2006
Woodstock Film Festival
Film Festival
Woodstock, U S A
October 2006
Boston Fantastic Film Festival
Film Festival
Boston, U S A
October 2006
Leeds Film Festival
Film Festival
Leeds, United Kingdom
November 2006
Santa Fe Film Festival
Film Festival
Santa Fe , U S A
December 2006
Alamo Downtown
Theatrical
Austin, U S A
January 2007
The Loft Cinema
Theatrical
Tucson, U S A
February 2007
Victoria Independent Film & Video Festival
Film Festival
Victoria, Canada
February 2007
Gene Siskel Film Center
Theatrical
Chicago, U S A
February 2007
NW Film Forum
Theatrical
Seattle, U S A
February 2007
Nickelodeon Theatre
Theatrical
Columbia, U S A
March 2007
Calgary Underground Film Festival
Film Festival
Calgary, Canada
April 2007
Moxie Cinema
Theatrical
Springfield, U S A
May 2007
Ragtag Theatre
Theatrical
Colombia, U S A
May 2007
Clinton Street Theatre
Theatrical
Portland, U S A
May 2007
Psychotronic Films
Theatrical
Savannah, U S A
June 2007
SPACE Gallery
Theatrical
Portland, U S A
June 2007
Flickerings at Cornerstone Festival
Film Festival
Bushnell, U S A
June 2007
Guild Cinema
Theatrical
Albuquerque, U S A
July 2007
Spud Fest Film & Television Festival
Film Festival
Driggs, U S A
August 2007
Cinema Village
Theatrical
New York, U S A
September 2007
International Film Series
Theatrical
Boulder, U S A
October 2007
Cast & Crew
Alan Zelenetz (Producer), Andrew Neel (Director (1st Feature)), Cherise Wolas (Producer), Christopher Kikis (Producer), Ethan Palmer (Producer), Luke Meyer (Director (1st Feature)), Nicholas Levis (Producer), Ovie Entertainment (Executive Producer), Thoma Kikis (Producer), Tom Davis (Producer)
PerformanceAndrew Mattingly (Supporting Actor), Danny McArthur (Supporting Actor), Kenyon Wells (Supporting Actor), Rebecca Thurmond (Supporting Actor), Skip Lipman (Supporting Actor)
CameraHillary Spera (Cinematographer/DP), Karl Schroder (Cinematographer/DP)
Post ProductionBrad Turner (Picture Editor), Raphael Laski (Sound Editor)
MusicJonah Rapino (Original Music/Composer)
RepresentationKrysanne Katsoolis (Agent)
Come meet the producers and mingle with other indie filmmakers and filmgoers at:
La Cita Bar
366 South Hill Street (between 4th & 3rd Street)
(Downtown) Los Angeles, CA 90013
http://www.lacitabar.com/
Good company, GREAT movie and $3.00 drafts till 11pm!
GRANDE 4-PLEX
345 S. Figueroa St.
(Downtown) Los Angeles, CA 90071
213-617-0268
SHOWTIMES:
Friday 10/26/07:
5:30, 7:40, 10:00
Saturday 10/27/07 and Sunday 10/28/07:
1:10, 3:20, 5:30, 7:40, 10:00
Monday 10/29/07 - Thursday 11/1/07:
5:30, 7:40
To buy a ticket, visit: http://www.cinemavillage.com/chc/cv/show_movie.asp?movieid=1046
- Cinema Village -
September 14 - 27
22 East 12th St.
New York, NY 10003
(212) 924-3363
the audience response was good.
Skip and Kenyon and Gary from the club were there and they participated in
the Q&A.
Each city we screen in elicits a different response. The laughs often come
in different places...the whole energy of the audience is just different.
We had a couple guys come up to us after the screening begging for a sequel.
Our nerves are fried after a long week and we are both looking forward to
going back to NY.
The last screening is this afternoon.
The driving situation in this town sucks...
The other night we wound up in some weird rave-ish type thing in down town
LA because the was the only place in this town where you could still get
some booze. It was lame.
But...that's LA I guess.
LOTS OF ROLE PLAYING HERE IN LA AND WE LOVE IT!
-A & L
Since our last blog entry we've shown DARKON at a couple of great
festivals - Hotdocs, Maryland Film Festival, SilverDocs.
It's been great to show the movie around a so many different places.
And now we are at the LA Film Festival with two screenings coming up.
Saturday at 10:15 PM
&
Monday @ 4:30 PM both at the Mann Festival Theater
Tonight some people from the Darkon club who came with us to LA will
be doing a live fighting demo.
The pre-festival retreat where we got to meet a lot of the other
filmmakers was a good aspect of the festival experience.
The festival also introduced to the DGA and were able to learn a
little bit about the organization.
There is a whole lot of Role Playing going on in LA so we think that
its a good venue for our film.
More later...
- Luke & Andrew
Basically our time at this festival has been awesome. The atmosphere has been free from glitz and other unnecessary noise. This festival is about the films, the people who made them, and the people who are in them. The addition of the music scene adds a nice element to the festival. The Lego building tables in the convention center were particularly dear to us.
The last two screenings have been sold out and we won the audience award on Tuesday night. The reception to the film has been very exciting for both of us. IFC has been following us all week for a series called 'Behind the Badge' that will show on the IFC channel in a few weeks. This is all somewhat overwhelming for both of us because it is our first major festival with Darkon.
One of the highlights of the trip was our LARPing demonstration in front of the convention center. Skip Lipman (the main character of the film) and several of his fellow Darkonians suited up in plate armor and fought. The crowd got involved and the president of the club was there to introduce them to the rules of the game. All the while we were blaring the sound track out of our rental car. It was pretty fun.
We are screening the film at Hot Docs in Toronto in April.
- Andrew Neel / Luke Meyer
Ratings
wildnat
I LOVED this film! It was really interesting to see how the role playing carried into their everyday lives.
stefanie
The cinematography and musical score were amazing - couple that with a facsinating plot line and it makes DARKON a documentary that should not be missed!!!
captainwacky42
I friggin LOVED this film. All the people are not only cool and colorful, but they have crazy skills. some of these dudes are giving speeches off the dome that rival LOTR dialogue (or at least come close). extremely interesting
stomptokyo
A serious treatment of a topic not generally understood by the public. Amazing cinematography!
2 Comments about DARKON
Jun 27, 2006 02:02PM
Do you have a trailer?
Mar 08, 2006 12:57AM
Director: Andrew Neel & Luke Meyer
Leave a comment about DARKON