In 1999, a few high school whiz kids tricked out the game engine from Half-Life and created Counter-Strike, the most popular first-person, multiplayer computer game in the world. Out of the Counter-Strike phenomenon has arisen a global network of clans, the name given to gaming collectives, who compete for high stakes at annual championships. Kiyash Monsef's G4M3RS follows the members of two Bay Area clans-Second 2 None and The Speakeasy Offensive-as they rise through the ranks of competitive gaming. Interviews with the players from S2N and TSO, some of the original CS mod squad, game industry reps, and even members of a cheat collective add dimension to an already 3-D universe of team-driven play. The path to the Cyberathlete Professional League Championship in Dallas is strewn with more obstacles than Counter-Strike's own terrorist scenarios. Among leading clans from Brazil, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, the fight for survival is on. An insider's POV, G4M3RS shows us a subculture of trigger-quick, crack competitors whose dreams crash as often as their computers.

Join us after the screening for a gaming party and Counter-Strike demo at gLAB, a cyber gaming center, across the street from the PFA Theater.