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NJPF presents ‘Wonderful World of Color’ exhibit in the Overlook Auxiliary Gallery at Overlook Medical Center

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Post date April 2, 2024
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— The New Jersey Photography Forum (NJPF) is excited to present its new exhibit, Wonderful World of Color, as part of Art at Overlook.

The exhibit is running from Feb. 4, 2024 to May 5, 2024, at the Overlook Medical Center, 99 Beauvoir Ave., Summit, N.J. 07901.

It is open for viewing on the 5th floor during normal visiting and business hours. There will be a free opening reception on Friday, April 12 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Overlook Auxiliary Gallery.

Color can help us understand our physical environment and affect emotions and behaviors. It can bring calm and joy, comfort, and cheer, or evoke tension and feelings of mystery and hope. Photographers of NJPF have used their personal vision of color to convey its influence to affect mood and perception.

In this special Art at Overlook exhibit at Overlook Medical Center, the artists of the New Jersey Photography Forum explore the many properties of color. They consider its beauty and power and how it interacts with other elements in our world.

Artists participating in the exhibit include: Deszo Bodis, Newark; Rob Creteau, Piscataway; Ken Curtis, Lebanon; Ralph Greene, Woodland Park; Theresa Hood, Hamilton Township, Pa.; John Markanich, West Milford; Charlann Meluso, Berkeley Heights; Charles Miller, Ringoes; Jeff Newman, Flemington; Nancy Ori, Berkeley Heights; Phyllis Raffelson, Cliffside Park; Lynn Ronan, Midland Park; Skip Williams, Westfield; and Allan Wood, Maplewood.

Overlook Medical Center’s “Art at Overlook” program, relaunched in the fall of 2021, highlights the work of local artists within the halls of Overlook Medical Center. Program exhibits will rotate every three months. Artists from the local community are invited to participate. All of the art displayed will be available for sale, with twenty percent of the proceeds benefiting the Overlook Auxiliary.

Nancy Ori, director of the NJ Photography Forum said, “Our photographers look forward to exhibiting at Overlook Medical Center each year. It is a beautiful place to share our images, and we know that the staff, family members and patients of the hospital enjoy having the art available for viewing as a bit of a respite.”

Celebrating its 30^th anniversary this year, The New Jersey Photography Forum is dedicated to furthering the interests of professional and serious photographers living or working in the New Jersey area. Under the direction and dedication of Nancy Ori, the NJPF has become the largest and most recognized group of fine art exhibiting photographers in the state. The monthly meetings are held in the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey in Summit or on Zoom. They encourage attendees to share expertise and advance their skills in preparation for exhibition. The meetings provide an opportunity for photographers to share their work for critique by others. Exhibition possibilities within the fine art community are constantly explored, which become an invaluable resource for photographers interested in becoming fine art exhibitors.

This exhibit and reception is sponsored by the Overlook Auxiliary, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports Overlook Medical Center with volunteering and fundraising efforts. Founded in 1916, the Overlook Auxiliary has more than 200 active members.

The Overlook Auxiliary Gallery at Overlook Hospital is located at 99 Beauvoir Ave., Summit, N.J. 07901 and may be visited during the hospital’s normal visiting and business hours.

For more information on the exhibit please visit https://www.oaux.org/art-at-overlook-njpf-exhibit/ or contact Nancy Ori at nancyori@comcast.net. If you are interested purchasing art, stop by or call the Overlook Auxiliary Gift Shop & Bloom at (908) 522-2117. You can also visit the New Jersey Photography Forum website at www.njphotoforum.com

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Review: ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,’ a Godzilla spectacle minus one thing: A reason to exist

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Post date April 1, 2024
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The clash-of-the-titans climax lifts off into the awesome zone, but until then the fifth entry in the MonsterVerse is overly busy boilerplate.

The director, Adam Wingard (who made “Godzilla vs. Kong),” knows how to choreograph a beastie battle so that it does maximum damage in a way that appeals to your inner toy-smashing 7-year-old.

Watching “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” I realized that the movie, a standard overly busy and mediocre blockbuster with a pretty awesome wow of a clash-of-the-titans climax, was demonstrating one of the essential principles of Hollywood movie culture today. Namely: All blockbuster movies are now connected!

Kong, living in the Hollow Earth, where most of the film is set (the Hollow Earth is a place I’ve never much liked the idea of, since it seems like Earth’s version of a storage basement), is supposedly the last of his kind, but he discovers a child ape who actually looks like an homage to the cuddly creature in the 1967 Japanese film “Son of Godzilla.” This kid gorilla leads Kong to a tribe of scraggly hostile apes who are living in a slave society presided over by the Skar King, an evil ape with blotchy red hair who’s as tall as Kong and wields a skeletal bone whip that looks like it was fashioned out of the spine of a sea serpent. He also commands, as a kind of personal weapon of mass destruction, a gigantoid creature who’s like a stegosaurus who got left in the freezer — and, in fact, his main power is a breath ray that can turn anything, including the mighty Kong, to ice.

In other words, Kong is facing a force who’s exactly like the villain in “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire!”

Then there’s Godzilla. He spends the film preparing for an apocalyptic showdown by traveling from one place to the next and absorbing radiation, first from a nuclear facility, then from an undersea battle with a flower-headed monster so radioactive it’s iridescent. By the time Godzilla is done with all this, his very being has been suffused with radioactive power, to the point that he literally turns pink.

In other words, he looks like he’s having his “Barbie” moment.

And then there’s the essential way that “Godzilla x Kong,” the fifth entry in the MonsterVerse, is a lot like the umpteenth installment of a superhero franchise. The movie is punctuated with occasional creature battles, but for the first 90 minutes it’s more devoted than not to coloring in the backstory of its world-building. (I know that prospect is already exciting you.) Godzilla and Kong each have a complicated relationship with their place in the earthly cosmos, and the story jumps through major hoops to transform them from foes to comrades.

The film’s central character, Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), while she’s busy charting all this, is most invested in the fate of Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the adoptive daughter she rescued after the Iwi people of Skull Island were destroyed. As it happens, the Hollow Earth is home to another tribe of Iwi (there’s a lot going on in that basement), who Jia can communicate with telepathically. And she turns out to be a kind of chosen one, since Jia will prove the key figure in activating Mothra (now reimagined in shimmery designer gold), Godzilla’s old nemesis-turned-ally, who will be instrumental in the outcome of the final clash…

The thing that connects “Godzilla x Kong” to last year’s run of superhero films — the ones that everybody complained about — is that, just like them, the movie can make your head hurt. But not because it’s too convoluted to follow. It’s because the real convolution is: Why are we supposed to care? About any of this?

The fact that we might not makes “Godzilla x Kong” feel like one of those “Jurassic Park” sequels where everyone is huffing and puffing about the fate of the world and “relevant” issues of genetic engineering — but we’re just there for the ride, which now feels like it has a study sheet attached. I guess this is the part of the review where I’m supposed to say that Brian Tyree Henry, as the wide-eyed tech-whistleblower-turned-conspiracy-blogger Bernie Hayes, and Dan Stevens, as the snarky British veterinarian Trapper, are a riot, but it felt to me like the two actors were mostly filling space. Rebecca Hall, in a no-nonsense haircut, uses her avid severity well, and Kaylee Hottle, as Jia, has a luminous presence, but I’m sorry, every time the film summons a human dimension it feels like boilerplate.

You could say that the qualifier, the one that’s always there in a Godzilla movie, is that in the kaiju films of Japan the stories don’t matter either; they are often nonsense. But not always. The original “Godzilla,” in 1954, was schlock with a fairy-tale sci-fi gravity; that was true, as well, of the other two standouts of the early kaiju films, “Mothra” (1961) and “Destroy All Monsters” (1968). And it may turn out to be a stroke of karmic bad luck that “Godzilla x Kong” is coming out right on the heels of “Godzilla Minus One,” the movie that rocked the world of monster cinema. It had the lyrical majesty of those earlier films, as well as a story, rooted in Japan’s World War II trauma, that was actually linear and moving. It reminded you that these creatures could carry an emotional grandeur.

— Variety

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Sugar Plum Happy Mother’s Day Chocolate Collection Box wants mothers to enjoy their taste of happiness

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Post date April 1, 2024
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Mom’s unconditional love deserves a little taste of happiness.

The Happy Mother’s Day Chocolate Collection Box is full of bright, luxurious chocolates that will sweeten Mom’s day.

With chocolate-covered pretzels, graham crackers, and sandwich cookies, she’ll be delighted with the perfect combination of sweet and salty flavors. The happiness continues with sweet and colorful strawberry delights and Linzer cookies filled with raspberry jam.

The Happy Mother’s Day Chocolate Collection Box is completed with an all-time favorite, nonpareils and a cheerful dark chocolate sunflower.

Show Mom you care with the beautiful and delicious Happy Mother’s Day Chocolate Collection Box! It is $58 at https://www.sugar-plum.com/products/happy-mother-s-day-chocolate-collection-box

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Vertical buys ‘Bucky F*cking Dent,’ dramedy by David Duchovny, set during the 1978 Red Sox-Yankees pennant race

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Post date March 31, 2024
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Vertical has acquired U.S. rights to “Bucky F*cking Dent,” a father-son story set against the 1978 Red Sox vs. Yankees pennant race.

The movie was written, directed by and stars David Duchovny. It also happens to be based on Duchovny’s 2016 best-selling novel of the same name.

The cast of “Bucky F*cking Dent” includes Logan Marshall-Green “(Spider-Man: Homecoming),” Stephanie Beatriz “(Brooklyn Nine-Nine),” Jason Beghe “(Chicago P.D.),” Evan Handler “(Californication)” with Daphne Rubin-Vega “(In the Heights)” and Pamela Adlon “(King of Staten Island).” The film is produced by Yale Productions’ Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman, as well as Duchovny.

“Bucky F*cking Dent” had its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. The release date is slated for later this year.

The film follows Ted (Marshall-Green), a failed writer-turned-Yankees Stadium peanut seller who moves back home after learning of the failing health of his Red Sox-obsessed father, Marty (David Duchovny). While Marty tries to make amends for his past, his condition worsens whenever his beloved Sox lose a game. To keep his dad’s spirits up, Ted takes matters into his own hands and manufactures a winning streak for the local team with the help of dad’s neighborhood pals. In the process, Ted strikes up a bond with Marty’s charming “Death Specialist,” Mariana (Beatriz), reigniting his writing ambitions.

“I wrote ‘Bucky F*cking Dent’ as a screenplay more than ten years ago but couldn’t get it made, so I wrote it as a novel,” said Duchovny. “Then, I re-wrote it as a screenplay from the novel. I had originally written the son character for myself, but as I aged out of it in the years I was trying to make it, I made the happy adjustment to play the dad and was so lucky to find Logan Marshall-Green to play the son so beautifully.”

Duchovny adds: “I wanted to get back to directing and make an old-fashioned movie where you laugh till you cry and then find yourself really crying. The folks at Yale Productions believed in the movie and stepped up to generously let me make the movie I wanted to make. I’m excited to work with the Vertical team who will expertly bring this movie to a wide audience.”

Vertical’s Peter Jarowey, a partner at the company, said, “David’s big screen adaptation of his novel delivers an emotionally charged coming-of-age story that skillfully tugs at your heartstrings. With a cast that feels tailor-made for their roles, we’re confident that this film will captivate audiences across the country.”

The film’s executive producers include Peter R. Anske, Randy E. Kleinman, Aviva Carroll, Tiffany Kuzon, Jason Kringstein, Scott Levenson, Kurt Ebner, Nicholas Donnermeyer, Will Hirschfeld, Gregory Ruden, Anne B. Ruden, Michael J. Rothstein, Patrick Heaphy, Jeffrey Tussi, and David Nazar. Jeffrey Tussi and Nick Phillips are co-producers, and Edward Nugent is co-executive producer.

Jarowey and SVP of Acquisitions Tony Piantedosi negotiated the deal on behalf of Vertical. CAA Media Finance negotiated the deal on behalf of the production.

Vertical’s upcoming slate includes “Jeanne Du Barry,” directed by Maïwenn who stars alongside Johnny Depp; “Lee,” directed by Ellen Kuras and starring Kate Winslet; “Asphalt City” directed by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire and starring Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan; and “Firebrand” directed by Karim Aïnouz and starring Alicia Vikander and Jude Law.

— Variety (EXCLUSIVE)

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Get an exclusive first look at WeTV’s ‘The Barnes Bunch’ super-tease!

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Post date March 31, 2024
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— We’ve been following the romance between Matt Barnes and Anansa Sims since the very beginning and we couldn’t be more excited about this news.

WE tv on Thursday shared a super tease and announced that all-new reality series, The Barnes Bunch, will premiere on Friday, April 19 at 10 p.m. ET with new episodes available on the popular AMC streaming service ALLBLK every Tuesday.

This endearing new series follows NBA champion and successful Podcaster, Matt Barnes, alongside his fiancée, model and reality personality, Anansa Sims, as they navigate love, forgiveness, and personal growth while reconciling their past. Both incredibly active and supportive parents, they are often aided by Sims’ mother, supermodel and New York Times Bestselling author, Beverly Johnson. Amid their chaotic lives with a blended family of six kids, now they confront the challenge of conquering their complex history to forge a future together and build a lasting union. The stakes are even higher as they navigate co-parenting, family dynamics, fame, and their growing empire.

Fresh off their engagement last year, the season features Matt and Anansa’s extensive planning of their engagement party. However, in the premiere episode, Matt reveals shocking information to Anansa at couples therapy, making her recall old relationship troubles. Beverly convinces Anansa to join her at a modeling shoot celebrating the 50th anniversary of her history-making Vogue Cover, but Anansa’s responsibilities as a mother makes it difficult. Will the ‘bad boy of basketball’ finally settle down? And can this dynamic duo maintain their sanity while juggling the kids, busy careers and potentially another baby?

Check out the supertease below!

We love to see the highs and hate to see the lows but we’re definitely gonna be watching this! What did you think of the trailer?

The Barnes Bunch is Executive Produced by Jamie Foxx and Datari Turner for Foxxhole Productions, Sun de Graaf of Lionsgate Alternative Television, and Oji Singletary and Amy Chaffin serve as Showrunners. Angela Molloy, SVP Development & Original Production, Unscripted and Noella Charles, VP Development & Original Production, Unscripted Executive Produce for WE tv.

The Barnes Bunch, will premiere on Friday, April 19 at 10 p.m. ET with new episodes streaming on ALLBLK every Tuesday.

— Bossip

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Lesbian law firm owner ensures ‘reproductive freedom’ for all-female staff

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Post date March 30, 2024
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— Owner contributes $430K for IVF treatments amidst court controversy

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. –– According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five couples in the U.S. struggles with some form of infertility.

— Photo: Attorney Brooke Goff, founder and owner of Goff Law Group in Connecticut, is helping her employees start a family by offering a bonus health benefit by pledging $43oK for coverage of infertility treatments. From left: Attorney Brooke Goff, her wife Angeline Ioannou, and their children: 11-year-old Grayson and 5-month-old Victoria, who were conceived via IVF and IUI, are a refreshing example of the modern family. — Credit: Goff Law Group

The biggest roadblock for most of them to start on the path of parenthood is the high cost of fertility treatments. To ease that financial burden and help those seeking to start a family achieve success, Brooke Goff, founder and president of Goff Law Group in Connecticut, has pledged $430K to offset the massive expense of the fertility process.

The enhanced benefit is a hot topic given the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling on “fetal personhoods” and the uncertain future of the procedure.

“I knew at a young age that I wanted to have a family, yet I also knew that as a gay woman, I would need some assistance from science,” said Attorney Brooke Goff, owner of Goff Law Group, a personal injury law firm in Connecticut.

“In vitro fertilization fulfilled my desire to carry a child and experience the beautiful journey of pregnancy, something every woman should be entitled to, if she so desires, regardless of her sexuality.”

That’s why in 2022, Attorney Goff began researching viable solutions and was told that only larger global companies, not small businesses, would even consider fertility health coverage.

“I was taken aback that more small businesses do not invest in their employees across the board- with family planning and creation,” she adds.

“Employees are the lifeblood of any company and if a business owner wants continued success and profitability, he or she should be investing in their employees’ family – both present and future.”

Undeterred, Attorney Goff eventually partnered with Carrot, a third-party health benefit company, and absorbed the entire near half-a-million-dollar cost of implementing the program. Specifics of Goff Law Group’s comprehensive IVF program include:

mental health counseling as related to the infertility process
individual infertility journey design and implementation
access to over 800 clinics throughout the United States
discount coverage for infertility care including but not limited to IVF, IUI, surrogacy, adoption, preservation of embryos, genetic testing, and medications related to infertility
coverage for after birth lactation services, overnight doulas, and women’s behavioral health as related to postpartum

“It has always been my belief that every woman deserves the right to have a family and unfortunately, it is easier for some than others,” said Attorney Goff.

“When infertility comes into the mix, it adds unplanned costs to the family and a lot of anxiety and uncertainty. Hence, it is important to offer a benefit with full-spectrum physical and mental health care.”

Attorney Goff explains that although some health insurance plans cover run-of-the-mill infertility treatments, they may have certain requirements as a result of strict state mandates such as 12 months of unsuccessful attempts to become pregnant and other limitations based on the age of the woman.

She further notes that health insurance typically does not cover surrogacy, adoption, egg harvesting, donor eggs, or donor sperm. “I wanted to provide something better to my employees alternative to the minimal health insurance coverages currently on the market,” Attorney Goff adds.

Regarding the recent Alabama legislation that allows couples undergoing IVF to sue a fertility clinic for lost or damaged embryos under the state’s wrongful death law, Attorney Goff explains that the ruling takes away pregnancy options and freedoms from potential parents who desperately desire a biological family. She believes that couples who are having infertility issues will now be deterred in using IVF intervention due to the risk of criminalization if their embryos are not used or disposed of properly.

“The ruling is making a lot of assumptions as to what might happen in that an embryo is a promise of pregnancy not an actual pregnancy,” said Attorney Goff. “The ruling should be appealed and overturned so as not to limit a family’s ability to conceive and reproduce. This is not a woman issue — it’s a family issue.”

When asked if she has any concerns about her female employees becoming mothers and its residual impact on her firm’s bottom line due to them being out of the office for sick days, Attorney Goff notes that she prefers hiring working mothers because they do the same amount of work in eight hours that others often do in twelve since they have learned excellent time management and organization skills, patience, and compassion while raising a family — all essential traits in operating a legal business. Goff Law Group is currently the largest women-owned and operated personal injury law firm in the state and is predominately made up of a female staff.

“Everyone has their own parenting journey and I want to open all of the doors for my employees to select one that universally meets their medical history, sexual preference and financial situation,” concludes Attorney Goff. “Doing my part to give my employees hope and direction in creating a family is something I take very seriously — and so should everyone else.”

About Attorney Brooke Goff

Attorney Brooke Goff is the founder and president of Goff Law Group, the largest woman-owned and operated personal injury law firm in Connecticut, comprised of 12 experienced female attorneys with various litigation backgrounds and skillsets. The firm’s foundation is built on its aggressive, no-nonsense tactics, free consultations, direct attorney access and a 99% resolution result rate. Arguably the most public openly female gay lawyer in the region, Attorney Goff has been named one of the Top 10 Most Influential People in Legal Services for 2024 and has earned the Super Lawyer Rising Star Award for the past seven years. Attorney Goff is a sought-after speaker at numerous elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as colleges and universities about the importance of education and pursuing one’s dreams. She is an inspiration for girls and a strong advocate for women to live their authentic lives. Visit www.gofflawgroup.net for more information.

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‘Red vs. Blue’ final season releases as feature-length movie after Rooster Teeth shutdown by Warner Bros. Discovery

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Post date March 29, 2024
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The battling factions of “Red vs. Blue” are getting one last adventure — in which they must team up to fight a common enemy — that will soon available on a screen near you, even though Rooster Teeth is closing its doors.

“Red vs. Blue: Restoration,” the 19th and final season of Rooster Teeth’s groundbreaking comedy sci-fi series, will be available starting May 7 in its entirety as an 87-minute feature-length film by Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.

The movie will be available on May 7 to purchase for $14.99 from Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu and other electronic sell-through outlets, and available May 21 to rent digitally for $4.99.

WBDHE also released a teaser trailer of the forthcoming movie (watch below). Per the official synopsis: “When the universe’s greatest villain returns in a terrifying new form, old adversaries, the Reds and Blues of Blood Gulch, will have to set aside their differences to save the galaxy one last time.”

The move comes in the wake of the decision by Warner Bros. Discovery — Rooster Teeth’s most recent corporate parent — earlier this month to shut down the money-losing entertainment division, throwing RT’s employees and contributors out of work. WBD is looking to sell the catalog and intellectual property rights to “Red vs. Blue,” along with a handful of other popular Rooster Teeth productions like “RWBY” and “Gen:Lock.”

For the final chapter of “Red vs. Blue,” series co-creator and RT co-founder Burnie Burns returned after a four-year hiatus to pen the script, reuniting with director Matt Hullum to bring closure to the narrative that has spanned more than two decades.

“I’m thrilled to return for ‘Red vs. Blue: Restoration’ and to conclude this incredible 21-year journey with our longtime fans,” Burns said in a statement. Hullum added: “Red vs. Blue has been a cornerstone of Rooster Teeth’s legacy, and we’re immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished together.”

“Red vs. Blue” is set in the universe of Xbox’s Halo game franchise, in which two teams, Red and Blue, engage in a perpetual conflict in a desolate canyon. Led by the bumbling Sarge and the cynical Church, the soldiers navigate absurd situations and misunderstandings with a mix of humor and sci-fi elements.

The show debuted in 2003, before YouTube launched. “Red vs. Blue,” in addition to establishing a popular digitally distributed entertainment franchise before the streaming revolution, was innovative in using machinima to create animations using video game engines. “Red vs. Blue: Restoration” was produced with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine.

— Variety

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Environmental documentary ‘Wild Coast Warriors,’ about a legal battle against Shell in South Africa, picked up by Limonero

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Post date March 28, 2024
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Limonero Films has picked up world rights to distribute environmental documentary, “Wild Coast Warriors,” which launches at Mipdoc.

The film aims to raise awareness of the plight of small coastal communities on South Africa’s Wild Coast, who are standing up to the oil and gas industry.

It follows a David vs. Goliath court-case against Shell, which halted oil and gas exploration, winning protection for the community, the ocean and the local culture.

“Wild Coast Warriors” is directed by Nick Chevallier and Leigh Wood, who also edits the film. It is produced by Chevallier for Contemporary Film Productions. The cinematographer is Warren Smart, who was part of the camera crew on Oscar winner “My Octopus Teacher.”

Pippa Ehrlich, director of “My Octopus Teacher,” said “Wild Coast Warriors” was “a critical story about the power of community advocacy, and a warning to big corporations that there is strength in the voices of vulnerable people who are connected to and dependent on their land.”

She said the film was “an empowering case-study showing how South Africa’s constitution protects its people.” She added: “It is exquisitely shot and paints a beautiful portrait of the people working to defend their communities and the land they love.”

The film is supported by Greenpeace Africa, Natural Justice and Oxfam Intl.

Chevallier’s credits include “Blood Lions.” His clients have included BBC, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Animal Planet and South African broadcasters.

Twenty years ago, Chevallier produced a documentary called “The Wild Coast….a Fragile Paradise” in which he explored the natural beauty and rich natural resource base of the Wild Coast.

Mipdoc runs April 6-7 in Cannes, ahead of the MipTV market and conference.

— Variety (EXCLUSIVE)

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How Ukraine recreates Soledar Salt Mine, let players compete for prizes, plus donate to restore school hit by Russian missile

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Post date March 27, 2024
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— The Soledar Salt Mine in eastern Ukraine shut down in early 2022 amidst the Russian invasion. The Ukrainian government recreated it in Minecraft to raise funds to restore a school hit during the war.

Justin Ling / Wired:

— On Feb. 24, 2022, Stepan Bandrivskyi woke up before dawn and got ready for a special day: his birthday.

It wouldn’t be a particularly happy one. Hours earlier, a couple dozen miles away, Russian tanks had rolled across the borders of his native Ukraine. The full-scale invasion had begun.

Like so many other Ukrainians, Bandrivskyi didn’t know what to do. So he went to work, to the Soledar Salt Mine, a cavernous state-run operation in Eastern Ukraine. Kyiv says it is the biggest such mine in Europe. His manager told him to go home: The mine was closed. It hasn’t resumed operations since.

Bandrivskyi fled the region not long after, as Russian forces advanced. After nearly a year of fighting, during which the mines were turned into bunkers, Russia seized and occupied the town of Soledar—although fierce fighting continues nearby. Over time, Bandrivskyi came to the painful realization that he may never see the salt mine, and its eerie and isolated beauty, ever again.

Last year, Bandrivskyi received a phone call from a colleague. “He invited me to participate in a very interesting project,” he says.

The Ukrainian government wanted to completely map the mine “and translate it into a game environment,” he says. Bandrivskyi seized the opportunity. “I wanted to keep it in my memory, and I wanted other people to be able to kind of immerse themselves in this world as well,” he says.

With that, Minesalt was born.

THE IDEA FOR Minesalt comes from United24, the official crowdfunding arm of the Ukrainian government. For nearly two years, United24 has raised funds to rebuild apartment blocks and purchase de-mining equipment. Last year, United24 began shipping batches of salt to donors, through its “Soledarity” campaign—raising some $3 million to purchase reconnaissance drones.

But as the war drags into its third year, donor fatigue has set in. That has pushed United24 to come up with new and innovative ways of attracting the world’s attention—and support.

Minesalt, which launches last Thursday might be their most inspired effort yet.

A recreation of the mine in Minecraft.

“It is important for us to remember and talk about every Ukrainian city that is under temporary Russian occupation,” Yaroslava Gres, chief coordinator of United24, told WIRED in a statement. Last summer, when a team suggested bringing Soledar to life as a video game, it was a very easy idea to say yes to.

Built for the wildly popular sandbox game Minecraft, Minesaltchallenges players to race through the mine, collecting 140 hidden salt crystals as fast as possible. At the end of the run, a quiz tests players’ recollection of details from Soledar. But, like in the rest of Minecraft, Minesalt players can also opt to wander at their own pace.

— Techmeme