Smash Forward: Growing the Vancouver Esports Scene

eSports: The Celebrity Millionaires of Competitive Gaming

March 2015 •English

Today, there are more people in the world who play League of Legends than there are people who live in France. We wanted to look inside this rapidly expanding world of competitive gaming, so VICE host Matt Shea flew to South Korea, a country where so-called "eSports" can either make you rich and famous or land you in rehab.

Not a Game

February 2020 •English

This documentary offers an honest look at our fraught, complex relationship to video games from the perspectives of gamers and their concerned parents.

Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride

March 2010 •English

Over the course of a year, film follows Vancouver Pride Society president Ken Coolen to various international Pride events, including Poland, Hungary, Russia, Sri Lanka and others where there is great opposition to pride parades. In North America, Pride is complicated by commercialization and a sense that the festivals are turning away from their political roots toward tourism, party promotion and entertainment. Christie documents the ways larger, more mainstream Pride events have supported the global Pride movement and how human rights components are being added to more established events. In the New York sequence, leaders organize an alternative Pride parade, the Drag March, set up to protest the corporatization of New York Pride. A parade in São Paulo, the world's largest Pride festival, itself includes a completely empty float, meant to symbolize all those lost to HIV and to anti-gay violence.

Gamechangers: Dreams of BlizzCon

June 2018 •English

GAMECHANGERS: Dreams of Blizzcon enters the unexplored realm of professional esports through the eyes of two of the world’s top StarCraft II players.

For Twenty Cents A Day

January 1979 •English

A film documenting work shortages during the Depression of the 1930s and the attempts to deal with the unemployed, in particular young men. The film discusses the establishment of relief camps and projects, where men were paid twenty cents per day; the founding of organizations such as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), Workers' Unity League, and Relief Camp Workers' Union; general unionization and protest of the unemployed, including the On To Ottawa Trek, Regina Riot, sit-in strike from May to June 1938 at the Vancouver Main Post Office, Vancouver Art Gallery and Hotel Georgia, and the resulting Bloody Sunday of June 19.

Streets of Plenty

February 2010 •English

With the 2010 Olympics approaching, will the world get to know Vancouver's darkest secret? 'Streets of Plenty' chronicles one man's perilous journey to live in Vancouver's downtown east side ghetto. The rules of this twisted social experiment? Starting with only a pair of underwear, he must survive the harsh winter streets for 31 days. He has no money, no friends, no family, and most importantly, no home. He must navigate the institutions, policies and services alongside the thousands of people that call Vancouver's streets home.

First Person Shooter

September 2002 •English

Filmmaker Robin Benger covered 14 wars in 24 countries as a veteran TV producer but nothing prepared him for the discovery that war was being waged in the basement of his own home. He discovered that "first person shooter" games, and violence-centred gaming, are taking over as the entertainment of choice for a whole generation of (mostly) teenage males. Entering into that world, he began filming in cyber-cafes, games manufacturers‚ conventions, and mega gaming tournaments, even tracking down the designer of the very game causing him so much friction with his own son.

Why Thee Wed

May 2005 •English

This documentary profiles the eight couples who challenged marriage laws in British Columbia in court until same-sex marriage was recognized in 2003. As controversy swirls around this issue worldwide, Why Thee Wed? offers surprising and diverse perspectives on what it means for gay and lesbian couples to walk down the aisle and to fight for the right to do so under the law.

Memories of CS:GO - The Early Years

March 2024 •English

As we start a new era with Counter-Strike 2, we remember the golden years of CS:GO and it's heroes. The past 10 years have taken us from bedrooms to sold out arenas. But how did this all come to be? A journey that began all the way back in 2012 with the release of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Mind Games - The Experiment

January 2023 •English

Can exercise sharpen the brightest minds? In this ground-breaking experiment, four world-class gamers, competing in eSports, Chess, Mahjong and Memory Games, put this to the test.

Wyścig Mistrzów

February 2013 •Polish

Game and Glory

January 2023 •English

Go behind the scenes of the intense world of professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). Follow the personal stories of legendary players Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato, and Casper “cadiaN” Møller as they navigate the highs and lows of the Intel® Extreme Masters (IEM) Major Championship in Rio de Janeiro. Narrated by the dynamic CS:GO caster Alex “MACHINE” Richardson, “Game and Glory” immerses you in the high-stakes drama and nail-biting tension of one of the largest esports events ever, with a staggering prize pool of $1,250,000. Experience the unmatched energy of a crowd like no other, and the electrifying atmosphere that made the IEM Rio Major an unforgettable chapter in esports history. Whether you’re a seasoned fan or new to the scene, this documentary promises to captivate and inspire, showcasing the relentless pursuit of glory in the world of professional gaming.

Little Mountain: An Election from the Inside

January 1984 •English

A behind-the-scenes documentary that examines the role of NDP campaign volunteers in the Vancouver riding of Little Mountain.

ProGamer

October 2016 •Swedish

Two professional European gamers navigate the exploding world of electronic sports. Packed with youthful ambition and impeded by reality, the ProGamers struggle to thrive in the fledgling industry of eSports.

Quad Gods

June 2024 •English

As the world’s first all quadriplegic esports gaming team, the Quad Gods are fierce competitors in this captivating story that challenges assumptions about disability, and spotlights the restorative power of resilience, passion and found community

Brunch Queen

July 2017 •English

A documentary about a musical about the hilarious gay owners of an insult diner.

I Am Street Fighter

September 2012 •English

For one of the longest-running game franchises in history, Street Fighter creators Capcom needed something exceedingly special to accompany the release of their 25th anniversary edition of the game. AREA 5 produced, shot, edited, and finished a documentary that spans three countries, more than two decades, and tells the story of how a game not only birthed an entire genre, but changed the lives of a generation.

The Pig Farm

January 2011 •English

The life and murders of one of the worst serial killers in history, Robert Pickton who went unchallenged for decades.

Little Sister's vs. Big Brother

August 2002 •English

This documentary, filmed over a 10-year period, centers on the debate over censorship as it follows Vancouver's Little Sister's Bookstore and its 20-year struggle with Canada Customs over the seizure of books. In the face of bigotry, bombings and repeated book seizures, it wages the most important legal battle in history against Canada Customs.

State of Play

September 2013 •Korean

A feature documentary about the world of South-Korean professional gamers. Every year thousands of South-Koreans flock to the game stadiums in Seoul to watch the Pro League, a live sports event where professional gamers compete to be the best at one single video game: Starcraft. It’s a title many young South Koreans dream of. The game itself is more than a decade old, almost ancient in the fast developing world of video games, but in South Korea it has become a national past-time. Like most specator sports, this world of eSports rapidly evolved in a multi-million dollar business. In this story, we follow 3 boys in different stages of their career as a Pro-Gamer in South Korea. For some it will be a struggle to stay on top of their game, for others it might be the turning point of their lives