This years event will feature a showing of the 26 Ares film The Lost Arcade.
Written and produced by Irene Chin and directed by Kurt Vincent, The Lost Arcade is an intimate story of a once-ubiquitous cultural phenomenon on the edge of extinction, especially in New York City, which one had video arcades by the dozen. These arcades were as much social hubs to meet up and hang out as they were public arenas for gamers to demonstrate their skills. But by 2011, only a handful remained, most of them corporate affairs, leaving the legendary Chinatown Fair on Mott Street as the last hold-out of old-school arcade culture. Opened in the early 1940’s, Chinatown Fair, famous for its dancing and tic tac toe playing chickens, survived turf wars between rival gangs, increases in rent, and the rise of the home gaming system to become an institution and a haven for kids from all five boroughs. A documentary portrait of the Chinatown Fair and its denizens, the Lost Arcade is a eulogy for and a celebration of the arcade gaming community, tenacity, and the Dance Dance Revolutionary spirit.
The movie will be shown at the Planetarium next door to the Carl D. Perkins building, and admission is free with your ticket Saturday night as a closing event. A Q&A with director Kurt Vincent will follow.
