It is my pleasure as a writer to occasionally throw the spotlight on exceptional things made by fans for fans. Even when true heart and soul has been put into a piece, fan media rarely gets the credit it deserves. The Baroness' Choice is a weekly column that will feature these labors of love. Last week I featured Savage Land Pictures's photoshoot starring none other than our favorite runner, Faith from Mirror's Edge. This week's feature is an excellent film by die hard Kojima fans, Philanthropy.
Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy is fan film produced by the Italy-based Hive Division. It is an entirely original take on the Metal Gear Solid saga. Set in an alternate reality after the events of the first Metal Gear Solid, MGS: Philanthropy takes the story in a different directions than Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty did. These fans from Italy have been hard at work on this film since 2007 and before, and are finally setting a release date of summer this year. They've gone so far as to include high quality CGI and motion capture in their film. As well as convincing the singer Aofie Ferry of the original Metal Gear Solid game to lend her vocals to the ending track. The acting in the trailer can be a little over the top. The English dub is a bit awkward, but otherwise this looks like nothing more than an shining example of fans giving it their all.
These guys have show true love for a gaming series by putting in all the effort and high quality post production work with a next-to-nothing budget. It's always a reward to see top notch films made by fans that look like they could stand beside Hollywood films. As much as I love seeing my favorite franchises on the silver screen, I'm always apprehensive these days about how my favorite stories a I look forward to finally viewing the finished product, and what direction they took the story in. Especially how Otacon is portrayed. I always fall for the nerdy guys!
Trailer:
Metal Gear Solid - Philanthropy Trailer 2 from Hive Division on Vimeo.
