A few days ago I was telling you about a movie, a documentary to be more precise, that really got all my hopes up: it was promising, daring and, last but not least, walking on extremely thin ice. It was produced by Pure West Films, directed by Juan Carlos Piñero and written and produced by his brother, Victor Piñero and it was called "Second Skin". If last time we met we talked about the trailer, now it's time to see more about this documentary that will surely change the way you perceive the gaming community and gaming as such for good - as promised, we have more details about it so let's get started.

"Second Skin" might seem to have an easy premise, so to speak, but after contacting Victor Piñero and obtaining more info on the project, I just realized that the truth is far from that. Ever since I told you about the trailer, I also mentioned something that I really liked about it, namely the fact that it would not adopt a pro or con stance towards gaming or people who are virtually addicted to such an activity. And this is a great thing for a documentary to accomplish, especially since doing either of the two could prove quite "fatal" for any project, be it of larger or smaller dimensions and/or budgets.

But that's just the second reason for which we should be happy that "Second Skin" doesn't take any sides, the first being that only in this way can it serve its purpose, namely that of introducing us, the viewers, into a world that we either knew existed but never checked with our own eyes or knew only too well, without judging anyone or anything. And this is precisely why director Piñero chose seven different gamers, from various backgrounds and on whom gaming has had contrasting effects (from ruining their lives to making them complete by joining them with their "better halves"), to better illustrate the fact that gaming such as MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online games) imply can have different effects on the lives of those involved. It's an issue of knowing about it and not about judging.

So what led to the decision of making such a potentially controversial documentary? Let's hear that in the words of the director himself, per a press statement also released to InOut: "It wasn't until I was in China, covered in monkey, that I took a moment to reflect on my experience creating this movie. Sanya, China was the last stop of our two-year journey filming 'Second Skin'. We were there to witness and capture the phenomenon of gold farming, where Americans pay Chinese sweatshop workers to play virtual world games (like 'World of Warcraft') for them and to amass virtual weapons and money. [...] The idea for 'Second Skin' was born out of my experience watching Joe, a good friend of mine, become completely and utterly addicted to these games. [...] When I began poking around the Internet, I realized that Joe was not alone in this addiction. There were multitudes of websites devoted to MMO addicts sharing stories and seeking help".

And, while the initial thought was that of making a documentary to stand as a clear warning for all those who discover the wonders of MMOs for the first time, Juan Carlos Piñero admits that, in time, he came to realize that every coin has two sides and speaking only of the negative one here would have been wrong. "Though the original impetus for making this movie was decidedly negative, my feelings towards MMOs have changed significantly through the process of creating this movie. Associating MMOs primarily with addiction is as shallow as associating football, television or even books with addiction. There's just so much more. MMOs are truly a new frontier for meeting, socializing and for many, simply living. [...] In making this movie I've seen virtual worlds bring together numerous couples, many of whom are now married. [...] Of course, I've also seen these games cripple the lives of many, shatter relationships, and even cost a few gamers a few lives", Mr. Piñero tells us in the press statement, concluding with the hope that he managed to capture all this in his latest production.

Stay tuned here to see whether he really did.