BREAK THE GAME

USA | 2023 | 72 min

Narcissa Wright is a speedrunner, i.e., a gamer specialized in finishing a video game in the shortest delay, who became famous all over the world wide web for her records. She lost her huge fandom on the social platform Twich after coming out as transgender. To reconquer her followers, Narcissa set out to break a new record live and stream every minute of her feat. Drawing from an archive of thousands of hours of livestreams, Break the Game explores the world of online gamer culture through the surprising portrait of the heroine and web star who, during her transition, faces the reality of online harassment but also finds love. Director Jane Wagner breaks through social-network claustrophobia by creating an intense and emotional film that is very up-to-date in its language experimentation all the while managing to go deep into the intimacy of the protagonist with great narrative strength and extraordinary empathy. (a.d.)