Although the Fifa World Cup may preoccupy much of your precious media consumption time this week – honestly, with the crushed hopes for the South-African team, the Bavaria-skirt legal struggles and Frank Snoeks commenting many of the matches, it’s getting uglier every day – I would like to ‘enlighten’ you with some good old film screenings, namely of David Verbeek’s R U There.

The film has been released today and will be screened this week througout The Netherlands (Utrecht, Eindhoven, Nijmegen, Den Haag, Amsterdam) along with Q&A with the director afterwards. Judging from the trailer, the film tells a story of virtual immersion, relationships and escapism, here’s the synopsis coming from the official site:

Jitze, a young Dutch professional gamer, travels the world to compete in video game tournaments. During a stay in Taipei his arm starts to hurt and he’s forced to take a few days rest. A night in his hotel, Jitze meets a girl and starts realizing what it means to be human in the age of the virtual worlds.

While there have been interesting cinematographic explorations of the (full) disembodiment in for example Submarine’s My Second Life or the online performance I’m Garrett Lynch (IRL), it’s good to come across a narrative in which material and virtuality characteristics intertwine as a part of the plot. As a side-note, it’s also ironic to see that Second Life is turning into a tool for film-makers and artists (treating the environment as one that has never actually existed), now that it’s largely abandoned by commercial parties.

Finally, here are this week’s screening dates, and the film’s trailer:

  • Thursday evening at 19.30, the 10th of June at ’t Hoogt, Utrecht
  • Wednesday evening at 19.30, the 16th of June at Eindhoven Plaza
  • Thursday evening at 20.30, the 17th of June at Kriterion Amsterdam
  • Friday evening at 20.00, the 18th of June at Nijmegen LUX
  • Saterday evening at 19.30, the 19th of June at Filmhuis Den Haag
  • Sunday evening at 19.30, the 20th of June at EYE Amsterdam