Also, after a long haitus, Bang the Machine will be making a comeback to Evolution this year. Profiling the lifestyles of some of the Street Fighter II tournament scene’s top competitors, the documentary follows them from Sunnyvale to Las Vegas as they duke it out for the right to secure a spot on Team USA. The prize-a trip to Japan, home of the world’s most advanced video gaming culture, and the chance to take on the best in a championship match between the two national teams. While capturing the testosterone and near-obsessive intensity of the slick-fingered youths, director Tamara Katepoo also brings a sociological eye to the hierarchical politics rife in the East Coast / West Coast cliques, exposing a conflict that resurfaces in a volatile Tokyo showdown that threatens to tear apart Team USA. BANG THE MACHINE presents a refreshingly entertaining, insightful portrait of a youth culture tapped by a flourishing gaming industry larger than Hollywood. Intriguingly, it is a culture where the racial power structures of society at large are inverted (Asian Americans command the most respect, while the most feared and admired are the Japanese) and where American identity emerges precisely when they are confronted by a foe more foreign than any amongst them,

Executive Producer Peter Kang will be on hand to field any questions you might have about the movie. No recording devices of any kind are allowed.