Jim Butler
Explorer
There's a video at the link: The Dungeon Masters on Vimeo
An evil drow elf is displaced by Hurricane Katrina. A sanitation worker lures friends into a "Sphere of Annihilation." A failed super-villain starts a cable-access show involving ninjas, puppets and a cooking segment.
These are the characters, real and imagined, of Keven McAlester's documentary THE DUNGEON MASTERS. Against the backdrop of crumbling middle-class America, two men and one woman devote their lives to Dungeons and Dragons, the storied role- playing game, and its various descendants. As their baroque fantasies clash with mundane real lives, the characters find it increasingly difficult to allay their fear, loneliness, and disappointment with the game's imaginary triumphs. Soon the true heroic act of each character's real life emerges, and the film follows each as he or she summons the courage to face it. Along the way, THE DUNGEON MASTERS re-imagines the tropes of classic heroic cinema, creating an intimate portrait of minor struggles and triumphs writ large.
Keven McAlester was born in New Haven, Connecticut; grew up in Dallas, Texas; and graduated from Harvard University. THE DUNGEON MASTERS is his second feature. His first film, YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME, won the jury prize at AFI's Silverdocs festival, and was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2006 Independent Spirit Awards. His other recent work includes "Seven Plus or Minus Two," a short film installation now showing at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin; and music videos for Spoon, the New Year, and Caroline Polachek of Chairlift. He's also currently producing a documentary by director Rory Kennedy for HBO. He lives in Los Angeles and New York.
An evil drow elf is displaced by Hurricane Katrina. A sanitation worker lures friends into a "Sphere of Annihilation." A failed super-villain starts a cable-access show involving ninjas, puppets and a cooking segment.
These are the characters, real and imagined, of Keven McAlester's documentary THE DUNGEON MASTERS. Against the backdrop of crumbling middle-class America, two men and one woman devote their lives to Dungeons and Dragons, the storied role- playing game, and its various descendants. As their baroque fantasies clash with mundane real lives, the characters find it increasingly difficult to allay their fear, loneliness, and disappointment with the game's imaginary triumphs. Soon the true heroic act of each character's real life emerges, and the film follows each as he or she summons the courage to face it. Along the way, THE DUNGEON MASTERS re-imagines the tropes of classic heroic cinema, creating an intimate portrait of minor struggles and triumphs writ large.
Keven McAlester was born in New Haven, Connecticut; grew up in Dallas, Texas; and graduated from Harvard University. THE DUNGEON MASTERS is his second feature. His first film, YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME, won the jury prize at AFI's Silverdocs festival, and was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2006 Independent Spirit Awards. His other recent work includes "Seven Plus or Minus Two," a short film installation now showing at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin; and music videos for Spoon, the New Year, and Caroline Polachek of Chairlift. He's also currently producing a documentary by director Rory Kennedy for HBO. He lives in Los Angeles and New York.
