Richard Clay, art historian and expert on semiotics and iconoclasm and the interplay between new technology and shifts in meaning, compares and contrasts cultural symbols from across the centuries, unpicking iconic images, music, and other cultural outputs to explain where ‘stickiness’ comes from.
Untappd: The Drinkumentary (2020)
Untappd: The Drinkumentary, a documentary that tells the tale of the launch, growth, and success of building a community of beer lovers on the platform over the last 10 years. The documentary shows life behind the scenes of Untappd, a small idea that turned into a community of close to 9 million users strong. The film features interviews with Founder Greg Avola, his family and close friends, and key players in the growth of Untappd.
How Did We Get Here? (2022)
An intimate reflection on life in the digital age and Seán McLoughlin's journey through the highest highs - chanting crowds, sold out shows, and marriage proposals - and lowest lows - grappling with loneliness in the harsh Irish winter - and the life and wonder in between.
Lord of the Toys (2019)
Max "Adlersson" Herzberg, 20 years of age, from Dresden decided not to spend his life working. Ever since, he reviews knives and other products, unboxes limited fan editions of mainly gangsta rap albums, gives talks about himself, drinks, swears and bawls in town, humiliates others, cracks borderline jokes and crosses every boundary he sees - Max is a YouTube creator and makes a decent living off of it. Most of Max's friends have their own channels on YouTube, some even quite successfully. Max and his gang are dubious role models but without a doubt, they are celebrities of their generation having more than 300.000 active fans. Is Max a violence-glorifying influencer with far-right tendencies or a usual adolescent, just trying to find himself and happens to be born into a time where the lines between private life and public self-display are blurring? He might be both, possibly without being overly aware of it.
The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz (2014)
Programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz achieved groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing. His passion for open access ensnared him in a legal nightmare that ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 26.
What remains (2022)
A reflection about memory, the digital world and the files that we generate daily through the audiovisual gallery of a mobile phone
La dictature du bonheur (2019)
The pursuit of happiness (and the display of happiness on social media!) has become a veritable cult. Happiness has become a social imperative, just like slimness, beauty and success. To better understand this obsessive quest for happiness, journalist Marie-Claude Élie-Morin takes an in-depth and personal look into this seemingly pervasive trend that sometimes leads to painful consequences.
Cablestreet (2019)
A cable system designed by controversial Chinese company Huawei Technologies enables communication between an expert and a machine. Time succumbs to space in a "New Cold War" played out in technological materials.
Under the Influence (2022)
When Casey Neistat first sat down to interview YouTube sensation, David Dobrik, neither of them knew they were about to capture one of the most precipitous rise and falls in the history of the internet... in real-time. David, protected by the belief that he’s just a kid with a camera, has constantly assumed risks. Even as a story of a sexual assault breaks, he’s busy covering up a near-lethal accident caught on film, intended to be entertainment. In the real world, these kinds of actions have life-changing consequences, but in the gold rush ecosystem of Social Media influence, the audience decides who succeeds, and who gets banished forever.
The Tinder Swindler (2022)
Posing as a wealthy, jet-setting diamond mogul, an Israeli conman wooed women online then conned them out of millions of dollars. Now some victims plan for payback.
The Weight of Sight (2024)
The Weight of Sight is a playful and very personal essay where director Truls Krane Meby, through a massive archive of his own material - anything from DV-tapes to 35mm - explores the last 20 years of digital development - how it’s influenced the images we make, and our bodies. What kind of images do we get of the world now that everyone is a photographer, and what does it do with how we unfold our identities? How has the internet both captured and freed us? And will Truls even dare to show this film?
American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020)
Using raw, firsthand footage, this documentary examines the disappearance of Shanann Watts and her children, and the terrible events that followed.
The Emoji Story (2020)
Emojis are a worldwide phenomenon, with some arguing that these smiling poops and heart-eyed faces are on the verge of actually becoming their own language. Who, if anyone, is in charge of this new global digital language?
Murder on the Social Network (NaN)
Using real cases, this documentary demonstrates the extent to which violent criminals can use social media to locate and manipulate victims.
#Trumpsplaining vol. 1 (2019)
a movie about Donald Trump, Martian technopolitical fictions, Facebook/Youtube algorithmic rabbit holes, white male online radicalization & prank-pretended memetic warfare.
Oscar (2016)
Brilliantly mixing animated sequences and archival footage, Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre paints a touching portrait of virtuoso pianist Oscar Peterson.
Startup.com (2001)
Friends since high school, 20-somethings Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman have an idea: a Web site for people to conduct business with municipal governments. This documentary tracks the rise and fall of govWorks.com from May of 1999 to December of 2000, and the trials the business brings to the relationship of these best friends. Kaleil raises the money, Tom's the technical chief. A third partner wants a buy out; girlfriends come and go; Tom's daughter needs attention. And always the need for cash and for improving the site. Venture capital comes in by the millions. Kaleil is on C-SPAN, CNN, and magazine covers. Will the business or the friendship crash first?
Mind Check 1-2, 1-2 (2023)
With nearly three million followers and several celebrity endorsements, rapper Akintoye is an internet sensation. Through his vulnerable art, he inspires young people to use their voices to bring awareness to mental health struggles.
Man on Wire (2008)
On August 7th 1974, French tightrope walker Philippe Petit stepped out on a high wire, illegally rigged between New York's World Trade Center twin towers, then the world's tallest buildings. After nearly an hour of performing on the wire, 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan, he was arrested. This fun and spellbinding documentary chronicles Philippe Petit's "highest" achievement.