Update–C-VILLE Weekly printed this great blurb yesterday in advance of our screening:
Stealing fiction from fact, The Institute is a bold, mind-warping documentary film for the brave new world where ‘actors’ weave the story of the Jejune Institute, which hosted a complex, thrilling game, designed by Jeffrey Hull, and played by thousands of people using San Francisco’s urban landscape as its venue. Director Spencer McCall blends topics like socio-reengineering, force fields, algorithms, and false prophets into an artful, visually rich collision with reality.
And here is my original post:
Is it a cult? Is it a game? Or is it a life changing adventure? The Institute examines a San Francisco-based alternate reality game, where cryptic narratives and real worlds collide to produce unforeseen and, at times, unsettling consequences. An official selection at this year’s Slamdance and Chicago Film Critics festivals, this riveting documentary takes the viewer on a journey into a secret underground organization teeming just beneath the surface of everyday life.
The Bantam Theater 