There is a new LARP movie on the scene for live action role playing enthusiasts to sink their teeth into. The Wild Hunt will meet the world at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival for its international premier on September 11th 2009 – less than 24 hours from now.
Mark Krupa, writer and actor of The Wild Hunt, took some time out of his very busy schedule to answer a few of our questions about the movie and its place at the Toronto International Film Festival.
- KT: A few weeks ago I received information about a new live action role playing movie called “The Wild Hunt.” I have to admit that this information was met with both excitement and reservation, which is the case with every LARP movie I have experienced.
I am excited because I envision the kind of exposure that a well produced LARP based movie could create for the industry but then the hesitation of experience lurks in the background waiting for its moment to strike. I believe that my personal hesitations come from previous LARP documentaries or ‘movies’ that show the industry to be what many may consider borderline crazy.
We don’t really do anything different than actors do every day and yet somehow previous attempts to highlight live action role playing manages to portray the participants as even more eccentric than the average gamer.
Somehow the mainstream opinion fails to account for the fact that LARP participants come from all walks of life. I LARP with successful CEOs, Vice Presidents and business people. I feel that we have been lost in the shuffle of focusing on the experience rather than focusing on the people.
Hollywood managed to produce the movie Role Models which focuses on the people behind the game and yet we, as a community of LARPers, have not managed to do so.
I find hope in the fact that The Wild Hunt has been accepted at the Toronto International Film Festival – a prestigious accomplishment that as far as I know, has not been granted to any movie with a LARP foundation.
How does your movie The Wild Hunt differ from the LARP documentaries of the past?
MK: First and foremost: The Wild Hunt is a fictional drama. Despite being shot at Bicolline, an incredible co-op run by Olivier and Basia Renard, the drama of our film is not set at Bicolline – rather it is set in a fictional, extreme LARP with hard-core players.
In documentaries such as Darkon, we follow specific players, mainly in their REAL lives. For example, a shy overweight teen who finds the courage to talk to girls in a LARP setting. We see them role-play in donut shops and in soccer fields. Our film is nothing like that. The LARP provides a mythic stage to what is essentially a Shakespearean tragedy – or perhaps a modern Norse saga.
You mentioned that ” … previous attempts to highlight live action role playing manages to portray the participants as even more eccentric than the average gamer..”
I agree with you. Many consider LARPers marginal people. But I do not believe our film will either dispel or enhance that myth. People who think LARPers are crazy – when they see WILD HUNT – will probably think so even more. Moreover, those who admire the LARP realm and its imaginative outlets, will be even further enchanted.
Our film, I hope, will make a difference to all those who have no idea that LARP exists. We hope to raise awareness about what LARP is in the mainstream media. If our film does that and provoke some discussion and debate, that would be a success in my opinion.
KT: If you were to tell the world what they should expect when they watch the world premier of The Wild Hunt what would you say?
MK: … Be prepared to walk the edge between fantasy and reality… Enjoy the ride and have a blast. Forget about car explosions and fake-boobed, perfect make-up actors who look like actors… And if you’re not careful, you may find yourself re-living an old myth… as if for the first time.
This film is shot in 35mm and though it was a low-budget endeavor, it had a professional crew and has high production value, mainly thanks to its LARP setting…
KT: This next question may be influenced by a review from a pre-screening that I read so feel free to defer… but is there a clear cut difference between “in game characters and actions” and “out of game people and actions?”
MK: There is a clear collision between fantasy and reality in this film. Between the myth-less modern world and a secluded natural setting, where anything is possible. Though we could have followed more characters in their every day lives – we chose to focus more on this exploration in metaphoric terms. I would answer this question more, but I fear it will give away too much of the plot so I think it’s best to remain cryptic.
KT: Every game that I have experienced has made every effort to decipher between a character being in game and a player who is not active in the game. Do you think your approach to this matter misrepresents the industry?
MK: This film does not strive to either represent or misrepresent the LARP industry.
KT: You mentioned earlier that some or all of the movie was filmed on the lands used by Bicolline, a LARP in Quebec. Could you clarify roughly how much of the movie was filmed on that location?
MK: Over 90% of the film was shot at Bicolline and its surroundings.
KT: What was it like to film on the site of Bicoline?
MK: Outstanding. In fact, since we were significantly under-funded, we attempted impossible, insane tactics… We filmed during their BIG BATTLE LARP campaign. We even hired musicians with fake LARP coins. I think that this film may be criticized for many things, but I can honestly say we lived the LARP experience whole-heatedly and authentically. Moreover, a year before filming… The director, Alex Franchi, and I spent a night – with our girlfriends – in a fake Inn as 200 LARPER barbarians partied below, drinking beer, singing obscene in-game songs, and pounding on tables… We had fun but didn’t sleep much. And note too LARPERS: it’s hard to get romantic with your girlfriend when 200 drunken barbarians are singing one floor down from you…
KT: As a writer for The Wild Hunt and an actor in the movie what was it like to film using ‘amateur’ actors that are used to an acting environment that is much more improvisational?
MK: I believe in improvisation as a window to all that is spontaneous and authentic. But there was nothing amateur about our LARP-extras. In fact, we refused to label them extras. We called them warriors. Many have experience in the Montreal film industry as special-skill combat extras, groups like LA COMPAGNIE MEDIEVALE, for example. On many cold nights, they set the tone. But I must say our cast and crew was an exceptional group, always working with limited resources.
KT: You mentioned in an earlier chat with me that for you this movie had a point – would you like to get into that here or let your audience find their own reason for the movie?
MK: Toronto TIFF programmer, Jesse Wente, has described our film in terms of “the modern yearning for ritual”. This is exactly what I tried to evoke. That is why I have always been enthralled by the Wild Hunt myth, one that exists in Norse, Celt and other European tribes… Our film is very much a hunt for personal myth.
KT: And the bonus question for our readers at home…. if you had the chance would you do it all again?
MK: Yes, most certainly – but only if I were younger…
KT: I appreciate your time with me today Mark. Best of luck with the world premier of the first LARP based movie to be accepted at the Toronto International Film Festival.
MK: My best to you and the greater LARP community. I look forward to meeting some or many of you in the future… as the Wild Hunt rages across Canada…. And if it does, it will probably be largely because of you all…
Let the Wild Hunt begin…
Mark can be found on Facebook as “Bjorn Magnusson” but if you add him you should know that his profile is completely in character.
For more information on The Wild Hunt you can look to their Facebook page or visit the Toronto Film Festival’s The Wild Hunt Page.
The Wild Hunt will be premier at 4:15 pm on September 11th 2009 at Varcity Theater 3 and will be shown again on September 13th 2009 at Scotia Theater 4.
All the best in your future LARP endeavors,
Kevin Tjia
Popularity: 47% [?]
Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts
![DSC_0027 [50%]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2766/4426476597_bf32a627d6_s.jpg)