Battledream Chronicle

In 2100, the Empire of Mortemonde has colonized nearly every nation on earth and forced their populations into slavery. These slaves are forced to earn 1000XP coins each month by competing in Battledream, a video game in which the winners must return to fight every month for all eternity, and the losers will die in real life. Battledream Chronicle tells the story of Syanna Meridian, a young female slave from Martinique, who stumbles upon a hidden vault in the game that contains a secret weapon. Ignoring her mother's warnings, she and her best friend Alytha Mercuri, together known as The Mermaids of Fire, decide to fight the Empire to regain their freedom. To complete their quest, they will have to join the only remaining team of free citizens before the Mortemonde inquisitors realize what they're planning. Martiniquais Alain Bidard proves himself a rare quintuple threat here by writing, directing, animating, editing, and scoring Battledream Chronicle, his debut feature. Working over the course of five years, he has woven together online gaming, Caribbean folklore, and Martinique's complicated colonial history to create a new kind of hero's tale, one brimming with creativity, patriotism, and most important, hope. (Seattle International Film Festival)