Dogma 95, the avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by the Danish director Lars von Trier and three of his fellow directors, was launched in 1995 at an elite cinema conference in Pariswhen von Trier was called upon to speak about the future of film but instead showered the audience with pamphlets announcing the new movement and its manifesto. A refreshingly original critical commentary on the director and his practice, Playing the Waves is a paramount addition to one of new medias most provocative genres: games and gaming.  Playing the Waves cleverly puns on the title of one of von Triers most famous features and argues that Dogma 95, like much of the directors low-budget realist productions, is a game that takes cinema beyond the traditional confines of film aesthetics and dramatic rules.  Simons articulates the ways in which von Trier redefines the practice of filmmaking as a rule-bound activ