Saturday, May 13, 5:30 PM, Falvey Hall

Director: Andrew Neel, Luke Meyer

Cast: Skip Lipman, Kenyon Wells, Daniel Mcarthur, Rebecca Thurmond, James Iddings, James Shirk, Domenic Prince, Andrew Mattingly, Gary Black, Frank Kanach, Leah Kanach

Country: USA
Year: 2006
Running Time: 89:00 minutes
Format: Beta SP

Darkon is a full-contact medieval fantasy war-gaming group, active in the Baltimore/Washington area since 1985. Every other Sunday, between 150 and 300 members gather in costume and armor to fight unchoreographed mock battles with padded weaponry.  It is governed by extensive rules, customs, and traditions that create a complex world with its own map, kingdoms, commerce, alliances, politics, history, and social hierarchy.

Andrew Neel and Luke Meyer’s documentary covers a pivotal period in the realm of Darkon as Bannor of Laconia attempts to bring Keldar, leader of the Mordomian Empire before a War Crimes Tribunal.  Battle scenes are filmed to give them the epic scope they deserve with swooping camera moves and dramatic score, immersing the audience in the Darkon experience.  Parallel to these events, we also meet the men and women who play these characters and learn the benefits Darkon brings to their everyday life.

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the South by Southwest Film Festival, Darkon is a sure crowd-pleaser.

-- Dan Krovich

Presented By: Andrew Neel, Luke Meyer, and members of the realm of Darkon

Biography:
Andrew Neel has spent over three years researching and filming various war gaming and creative re-enactment groups in the United States.  Neel’s first 35mm short film billy528, a drama about online romance, was bought and distributed by Hypnotic and went on to win Best Experimental Drama at the New York Film and Video Festival in 2002 before airing on Showtime in 2003.  Neel started working in film in 2000, and 2001 when he produced two short films for filmmaker Dan Harris (writer, X-Men II). He founded his own production company, SeeThink Productions, in 2002. He has also directed commercials and music videos.

Prior to co-directing Darkon, Luke Meyer co-directed and co-produced 32 Acres, a documentary about a community in Missouri displaced by a Wal-Mart shopping center, currently in postproduction. Previously he has worked with director Bennett Miller (Capote) on a film about an Indian meditation teacher, and with Emmy Award-winning documentarian Ric Burns (New York: A Documentary Film) on his film biography, Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film (2002), as well as on the forthcoming biographies of Andy Warhol and Eugene O’Neill.