The Overkill festival - 2023

The Overkill Festival is an annual festival where we combine arthouse games, playful art, films and music together in a beautiful blend to research challenging topics. This year curated in collaboration with Kostis Stafylakis, we present :

THE OUTBURST OF THE DIGITAL SWAMP
Rather than evading the (digital) wetlands, The Overkill wishes to design a route through
its muddy paths. Artists navigating the Postdigital constellation think of the swamps as a playground to hybridise, as material under transformation and a womb for monstrous mutation. Today the swamp is reconsidered as a space for agency, it is inhabited by amphibious entities and exiled varieties of the self, the swamp is a liquefying space expanding on the different ecosystems.

The Overkill festival will showcases interactive and participative art installations, indie/arthouse games, an alternative film program, experimental musical performances and activities such as workshops, network meetups, D&D sessions, talks and more. Follow the newsletter, our website and our social media to get updates about the artists, games, programs etcetera!

The program of the festival is created with the support of playful curator Zuraida Buter and artists researcher Erik Peters.

Unique for this edition, The Overkill will also host a LARP: ‘ THE HORDE: GOBLIN MODE’ created by Kostis Stafylakis and Theo Triantafyllidis . Of course you can join too!
WHAT IS A LARP?

A LARP is a live action role playing game. You choose a character that you want to become within the story, with their own magical powers, appearance and backstory! You are becoming this character for the weekend, try to think like them, feel how they would feel, and find new ideas for our future together. You will join one of four ‘clans’, the Boho Elves, Swamp Goons, Carbon Knights or Anarchistic Goblins, and then you’re ready to go on your adventures!

LARP THE HORDE: GOBLIN MODE
Welcome to a Climate-Shifting World

Step into a post-climate change realm, where a once-neoliberal dystopia has given rise to pandemics, mass extinction, and social unrest. Prepare to navigate the eternal grey skies caused by large-scale solar radiation management gone awry, as sulphuric mist clouds the horizon. It’s a realm where the failure of green capitalism has left a power vacuum, paving the way for new factions to rise and claim their destiny.

Join us together with the designers of the LARP, Theo Triantafyllidis and Kostis Stafylakis in this adventure that defies conventions, immerses you in a world of enthralling possibilities, and sparks your wild spirit. Experience the synergy of environmental consciousness and thrilling gameplay as you journey through “The Horde: Goblin Mode.” Are you ready to rewrite the fate of the realm?

The LARP will be at the heart of the festival connecting the art and games installations, disturbing the programs and inviting every visitors to take on playful challenges, but there’s of course more to see, do and experience!

As a sneak peak, we’re highlighting a few amazing participants already here! Keep an eye out for oursocial media, websiteand the coming newsletters to get to know more artists, games, films and events!

We will be showing the video installation ‘Abyssal Seeker’ by Joey Holder. It depicts a slow, aquatic journey to a fictional brine lake at the bottom of an unnamed ocean. Protagonists float in and out of the story, semi fictionalised versions of invertebrates, hybridised and constantly shifting.

The Paris based, Cookie Collective is bringing a new playful installation specifically created for The Overkill! Inspired by the theme of the festival, Leon Denise, Emilie Breslavetz and Rémi Georges created Tétardise, an interactive installation with a dedicated custom controller and procedural generative audio. Imagine you control a group of tadpoles surfing the web!

FRIDAY PLAYFUL PROGRAM WITH TALKS AND WORKSHOPS
New this year is a full program of talks , panel discussions and demos, curated with Zuraida Buter! On Friday the 17th we welcome professionals of the game industry and the art world to dive into their multiple practices. With Joost Vervoort presenting the game All Rise, with Jana Ramanova, BCAA System andJuliette Lizotteabout LARP as an art practice, with Noemi BiroandRyan Cherewaty about world building and more to be announced soon. Friday is a day to get inspired, might the makers and discover new perspectives!

There will be much, much more to come! For now, here you can read what will happen on which days during the festival, so you know when to take your days off and come celebrate with us!

THE OVERKILL FESTIVAL
TIMES AND OVERALL PROGRAM

THURSDAY 16 NOV (10:30 to 00:00)
Official Playful Opening 19:30 with the curators and programmers of the festival
Launch of the LARP with Kostis Stafylakis and Theo Triantafyllidis
EXPO - LIVE PERFORMANCES - LARP - FILM

FRIDAY 17 NOV (10:30 to 1:00)
Playful Talks and workshops curated together with Zuraida Buter.
EXPO - LIVE PERFORMANCES - LARP - FILM - LIVE CODING NIGHT curated by Cookie Collective

SATURDAY 18 NOV (10:30 to 1:00)
NK Chillen, Dutch Finals competitive leisuring presented by Derk Over
LARP Final Assembly
EXPO - LIVE PERFORMANCES - LARP - FILM - GAME SESSIONS - WORKSHOPS - FLUID- MODULAR NIGHT

SUNDAY 19 NOV (10:30 to 17:00)
EXPO - LIVE PERFORMANCES - FILM - WORKSHOPS - GAME SESSIONS

location : Sickhouse Firestation, Hengelosestraat 77, 7514AE Enschede