Darkon
ABOUT
DARKON covers an epic war raging through the realm of Darkon (an American LARP based outside of Baltimore). Skip Lipman, a suburban stay-at-home dad leads his rebel army in a monumental quest to topple a mighty empire and lead the realm to new era of liberty and glory. The documentary investigates the LARPers lives in the game and out of the game offering insight into the players complex relationship with fantasy and reality. The film is set to the backdrop of the real war then taking place in Iraq, highlighting the American cultural disconnect prevalent during the Bush-era wars. DARKON, beloved for its light-hearted romp in the quirky imaginations of suburban Americans, has also been a point of reference as an ethnographic study of our relationship with escapism, war and fantasy.
Andrew Neel is an award-winning director, writer and producer of both fictional and documentary films. Some of his directing credits include DARKON, ALICE NEEL, KING KELLY and GOAT. He produced the critically acclaimed STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING DOORS and Luke Meyer’s BREAKING A MONSTER. Neel worked as a writer, director and a co-producer on FX’s A TEACHER.
Luke Meyer is an award-winning non-fiction filmmaker. Past feature films include DARKON (2006, SXSW Audience Award, IFCtv—about LARPers and American fantasy), THE FEATURE (2008 CPH New Visions Award, as writer and editor—about the life of pioneer video artist Michel Auder), NEW WORLD ORDER (2009, IFCtv—about Alex Jones and the expanding culture of conspiracy theorists), BREAKING A MONSTER (2016, Best Documentary, UK Music Video Awards—about child rock stars’ first encounter with the music industry). Most recently he premiered his documentary series THE FOURTH WALL about a psychotherapy cult at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. Meyer helped create the NEA-supported Bellwether Film Series in Amherst, MA, and, for the last eight years, has served as a curator for the series. Meyer is a founding partner of the acclaimed filmmaking collective SeeThink Films and is based in New York City and Western Massachusetts.
CREDITS
Andrew Neel
Ethan Palmer
Christopher Kikis
Thoma Kikis
Nicholas Levis
Cherise Wolas and Alan Zelenetz
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