For the past years renowned Dutch documentary filmmaker Jos de Putter has been working on a portrait of the competitive WarCraft III scene mostly focusing on Sky and Grubby and their WCG rivalry but also featuring MaDFroG extensively. This portrait is now finished and will debut at the world's largest documentary film festival: the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam of which Jos de Putter is a previous winner.

The following synopsis of the documentary can be found HERE.

Fingers type on a keyboard quick as lightning; eyes stare at a screen totally concentrated. Headphones smother war sounds. The movements are minimal; silence reigns. The world championship of the Warcraft computer game progresses in seeming stillness, while in the virtual environment players fight out hyperactive battles.

The contrast between the real world and the world of computer games is the leitmotif of Beyond the Game, Jos de Putter's documentary about the top players of Warcraft. The film follows the Chinese contestant 'Sky' and the Dutch 'Grubby', two arch-rivals who will meet again during the upcoming world championship. The filmmaker also visits heroes from the past. The Swedish 'MadFrog' thinks back wistfully to his heyday, whereas his parents particularly remember their worries about his health.

De Putter applies gaming techniques to the documentary genre, but also the rules of the Western genre: his film portrays the lives of Sky and Grubby just as laconic and taciturn as gunslingers in the build-up to the decisive duel. Observing from a distance, Beyond the Game tries to penetrate a complex world that engages millions of players around the globe.

The film will be broadcast at Dutch television (several langauges are spoken, most prominently English), more festivals and become available online. You can find a on-going series of blogs which include entries by Grubby and Jos de Putter HERE.