"Break the Game" Beats the Odds
Director Jane Wagner on PBS, Twitch and defying censorship of transgender stories
Break the Game tells the story of Narcissa Wright, a world-record-holding gamer who loses her massive fanbase after coming out as a trans woman. To win them back, she attempts to set a new world record in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, while live-streaming every minute of her mythic quest. Drawing from an archive of more than 3,000 hours of Narcissa’s livestreams, intimate verite, and 8-bit animation, the film explores the hidden corners of gamer culture, online harassment, and the mental health implications of living a digital life.
The film premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and was praised in the New York Times for its “excellent storytelling.” After screening at subsequent festivals including Outfest, Calgary International Film Festival and Twin Cities Film Fest, the film generated new headlines this month ahead of its planned release on PBS as part of POV’s 37th season.
The Atlantic reported that after “Marjorie Taylor Green accused PBS of “brainwashing and trans-ing” America’s children,” director Jane Wagner received a call in which she was informed “the film would not be shown as planned on April 7…because executives at PBS were worried about Break the Game’s transgender themes and the risk of further political backlash.”
Eventually, PBS changed its mind and rescheduled the broadcast date for June 30. Determined to honor Narcissa’s story and take distribution into her own control, Jane experimented with a different way of reaching an audience. She turned to Twitch, the interactive platform popular in the gaming community, and livestreamed the film on April 21. Now the film is available to buy or rent and remains scheduled for PBS broadcast on June 30.
Jane discussed the making of Break the Game, the controversy surrounding its release and why reaching audiences is more important than ever.
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Bella: How did you encounter Narcissa and what drew you to the story?
Jane: I stumbled across Narcissa's story by accident in 2015 when I couldn't beat a boss in an old N64 game. Naturally, I searched the level on YouTube and many “suggested videos” later, came across speedrunning and its brightest star: Narcissa Wright. When I went to Narci's Twitch stream, I instantly felt like I was in a documentary. Not only was I struck by Narcissa's emotional vulnerability in the face of vicious online harassment, but the stream was so immersive. It felt like I was seeing the future of where the media was headed as well as social relationships.
Bella: Tell me about the process of trawling through the thousands of hours of livestream archival and the use of 8-bit animation?
Jane: Having access to thousands of hours of livestream archival was both a blessing and a curse. I had already watched many of the streams live, but had missed some of the story in the chat because I was focusing on other things. It was exhilarating to see Alex Eastly AKA D_Gurl flirt with Narcissa for months in the chat before their relationship really kicked off - something that's so common, but I hadn't really seen in cinema before. On the other hand, watching someone who felt isolated going through a really difficult time and experiencing an onslaught of hate while I was isolated in the pandemic was really challenging for my mental health. Luckily I found a good therapist and learned that breaks were healthy.
Throughout production, I knew we would need something to alleviate the claustrophobia of the stream. Narcissa really saw her life as a video game, so pixel art animation felt like the appropriate medium - it's so nostalgic, and childlike. Fortunately, I found a very talented pixel artist Patrick Ackerman, who grew up with the same games as Narcissa and streamed himself - it made the art feel really authentic.
Bella: What was the response to the film when you premiered at Tribeca and the subsequent festival run and what are the goals of the surrounding impact campaign?
Jane: The film was very well received at Tribeca and won a Special Jury Mention for Best New Documentary Director. We had a really strong festival run screening all over the world at both mainstream fests and LGBTQ+ festivals.
My goals with our impact campaign were to engage in a dialogue around the mental health issues in the film, provide resources, educate parents, and create community, especially with LGBTQ+ audiences. Given how few resources I had to achieve this, I'm really proud of what we've accomplished so far. We've worked with Take This, the leader in mental health in games to screen the film at major gaming conventions along with in depth panel discussions. We also had a grassroots theatrical campaign where we worked with local LGBTQ+ gaming groups, college screenings, community screenings with LGBTQ+ groups, and even parent screenings.
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