Set over the course of a weekend tournament for chess software programmers thirty-some years ago, COMPUTER CHESS transports viewers to a nostalgic moment when the contest between technology and the human spirit seemed a little more up for grabs. We get to know the eccentric geniuses possessed of the vision to teach a metal box to defeat man, literally, at his own game, laying the groundwork for artificial intelligence as we know it and will come to know it in the future.  Director Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha, Beeswax) joins us for a conversation on his spirited and engaging film about this pivotal moment at the dawning of the computer age.

★★★★“(A) rather brilliantly conceived study. …About as perfect a rendering of the era as you could ask for…the acting is uniformlysuperb: every twitch, every stumble, every stutter is deployed with absolutely plausibility. Bujalski really has pulled off something extraordinary here… As an act of cultural archeology I can think of few better.” – Andrew Pulver, The Guardian

 “Funny and poignant, it’s also a witty satire on technology and how today’s cutting-edge will be tomorrow’s quaint kitsch.” – Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times

 “Computer Chess could be a new Doctor Strangelove. Hilarious and brilliant.” – Nathan Renaud, Accréds

“An endearingly nutty, proudly analog tribute to the ultra-nerdy innovators of yesteryear.” – Justin Chang, Variety