It's no surprise that in 2016,Silip many across the globe experiencedPokémon Gofever. Everyone except Brant Pinvidic, that is.
The filmmaker and dad just couldn't understand why everyone -- ranging from a Pokémaster in New York City to his own wife and kid -- wanted to catch 'em all.
So instead of just trying out the popular mobile game himself, he decided to go one step further and make a short film about it.
Titled Why I'm Not on Pokémon Go, the short film -- which is about 14 and a half minutes -- debuted on YouTube and a standalone website last week.
"How does a 25-year-old Japanese cartoon all of a sudden become the most popular app in history?" Pinvidic told Mashablein an interview. "I just felt left out."
The film follows Pinvidic as he travels across the country interviewing die-hard Pokémon trainers and even celebrities, including the first guy to “catch ‘em all.” He also hunts for Pokémon himself, and throws a themed party.
"How does a 25 year old Japanese cartoon all of a sudden become the most popular app in history? I just felt left out."
Over the course of three months, Pinvidic talked to about 100 people for the film.
Throughout the filming process, Pinvidic also ends up connecting with his 13-year-old daughter, an avid Pokémon Goplayer.
"It really was a perfectly designed game at a perfectly timed moment," Pinvidic said of the mobile game. "The use of augmented reality with the hunting outside and the community it created was brilliant. I think with everyone so attached to their digital lives and their screens people we hungry for something that would get them to engage with other people sharing a common interest. That is the one thing I really saw throughout making the film, people had something to talk to each other about."
The film expands on Pinvidic's "Why I’m Not On ..." series, which will be developed as a documentary series for 2017 in a partnership with STX Entertainment. Pinvidic first launched with the film Why I'm Not on Facebookin 2015.
"[While making the movie], I learned to be a better dad to my daughter," Pinvidic said. "I also learned that if something is wildly popular and everyone is enjoying it, there is a very good chance there is a very good reason. Between this and the Facebook movie, I’ve learned to be less judgmental about things I don’t understand."
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