MOVIE TRAILERS

Watch: First Odd Teaser for B&W Sundance Film 'Computer Chess'

by Alex Billington
February 4, 2013

"Are we so sure that these are strategies we want to perfect?" What in the heck is this weird piece of nerdy cinema? Take a look at the Alfred P. Sloan-winning Sundance black & white indie film Computer Chess, a sort of found footage drama about / featuring nerdy chess prodigies. The actual plot in the film revolves around "a man vs. machine chess tournament" and a group of "young geniuses as they try to make the ultimate chess program to beat a human player." It's hard to decipher that from this odd jumble of awkward footage, but I'm intrigued nonetheless. Something about this seems particularly fascinating. It's your move!

Here's an early trailer for Andrew Bujalski's Computer Chess, courtesy of Trailer Addict (via SlashFilm):

Description from the Sundance 2013 guide: "Is there a computer program in the house which can stand up against a human chess master?" That's the question posed by mastermind of the game Pat Henderson, head of an annual computer chess tournament. Set in 1980 in a nondescript hotel, Computer Chess follows several young geniuses as they try to make the ultimate chess program to beat a human player. As the nerdy guys sweat through various social situations (especially with the one girl there), and the convention overlaps with a group of new-age couples in therapy, things get really strange. The film just premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and will also play SXSW 2013. It was shot on Sony AVC-3260 video cameras from 1969. As far as we know, it still doesn't have a distribution deal confirmed, but we expect to hear more soon.

Filed under Indies, To Watch, Trailers

From around the web: