Plastic Paper: THE TRASHMASTER

Machinimas (a portmanteau of machine, animation and cinema) are films made using video game engines. The Trashmaster is one of the finest and most ambitious in its class. Created entirely with images from the video game Grand Theft Auto IV, this stylistic feat makes all former attempts to turn machinimas into a fully-fledged genre look like child's play. The "trashmaster" divides his time between collecting garbage and cleaning up other forms of trash fouling up New York City's streets: dealers, small-time criminals, rapists... When the dancers in his favourite strip club are mysteriously killed, the trashmaster finds himself hot on the trail of a particularly twisted serial killer. A cross between Dirty Harry, Taxi Driver and Seven, this first feature by Mathieu Weschler is the fruit of hours and hours of solitary labour, proving once again that imagination, not money, is what counts. A valuable lesson for up-and-coming filmmakers. (Damien Detcheberry, Festival de Nouveau Cinema)