Wargames
2018 · 11m · UK
Directed by Jessica Bishopp
Genres: documentary, experimental
Tones: contemplative, whimsical
An experimental documentary that goes inside one of Britain's longest-running wargaming societies, where hobbyists meticulously re-stage historical battles on tabletop terrain. Their cheerful obsession is juxtaposed against an interview with war psychiatrist Edgar Jones, who reflects on the actual psychological cost of combat.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Most people would make this a straight mockumentary—paint the hobbyists as delusional, get easy laughs. Bishopp refuses that, and instead builds something genuinely unsettling by trusting the juxtaposition itself; the whimsy and the psychiatrist's voice don't cancel each other out, they compound.
The formal restraint here is what elevates it—Bishopp trusts the edit to do the philosophical work, cutting between miniature carnage and lived trauma without commentary, placing her in a lineage of essayists like Harun Farocki who let montage carry argument.
The decision to keep the psychiatrist's interview *clinical and undramatic* is what makes this work: no swelling strings, no manipulative pacing, just his measured voice against the fussy detail-work of the wargamers, and suddenly you feel the weight of that contrast in your chest.
Reviews
A creative documentary short that delves into the obsession and camaraderie of a Wargames Society while asking the question: what does it take to go into battle?
Awarded a Vimeo Staff Pick for its juxtaposition between cheerful but competitive wargame enthusiasts and the brutal psychology of war.
Festivals
- The Smalls Film Festival 2018, Nominated — Best Documentary
- Imperial War Museum Short Film Festival 2018, Nominated — Annie Dodds Award for Best Documentary