Knit’s Island

Shot entirely in a virtual environment, Knit’s Island is an exceptionally cinematic and contemplative documentary. The film is set in a rural game world that is both impressively realistic and uncannily not quite right. What is still “real” in this virtual existence, which will probably play an important role in the lives of more and more people in the future? With this question, the filmmakers set out to explore the sparsely populated 250 square kilometers of the game.

They encounter zombies, dodge shootings, and speak to a disconcerting group who set out simply to kill as many other participants as possible. Above all, they meet players who spend hundreds or thousands of hours here, roaming, growing food, forming communities.

“Sometimes I confuse my digital memories with those in real life,” a player says. “This virtual nature reminds me of my homeland, Australia,” says another in Berlin. The boundaries between role-play and reality gradually fade – all the more so during Covid lockdowns, when for many players, the video game became their most important “outside world.”