Third Annual Machinima Film Festival Announced

Representatives from The Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences (AMAS) have formally announced the 2005 Machinima Film Festival and the 2005 Machinima Awards (the Mackies). Sponsored by Nvidia and the Independent Film Channel, the third annual festival will be held on November 12 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York. The AMAS was created to support and promote Machinima, which it defines as "filmmaking using real-time 3D video game technology and/or virtual reality." Machinima is particularly popular using first-person shooter titles such as the Quake series or Half-Life 2, but can be accomplished with a massive range of video games. The one-day event will include screenings of Machinima films, workshops hosted by Machinima filmmakers, special presentations, talks with award-winning independent filmmakers and seminars about Machinima production techniques. Preceding the festival will be an opening reception and awards presentation, where some of the best Machinima filmmakers will be recognized. “This year's Machinima Film Festival is shaping up to be our largest yet," said Paul Marino, executive director of the AMAS. "Machinima has experienced incredible momentum in the past year and we're looking forward to a full day of events along with a program of all new Machinima works." Further information about AMAS and the 2005 Machinima Film Festival and Awards can be found at the organization’s official website.