Technology

The Cleaners | Director: Moritz Riesewieck, Hans Block  
Year of production: 2018| Country of production: Brazil, Germany | Language: English (with full English subtitles available)

Enter a hidden third world shadow industry of digital cleaning, where the Internet rids itself of what it doesn’t like: violence, pornography and political content. Here we meet five “digital scavengers” among thousands of people outsourced from Silicon Valley whose job is to delete “inappropriate” content off of the net. In a parallel struggle, we meet people around the globe whose lives are dramatically affected by online censorship. A typical “cleaner” must observe and rate thousands of often deeply disturbing images and videos every day, leading to lasting psychological impacts.

In My Room | Director: Ayelet Albenda  
Year of production: 2017| Country of production: Israel, United Kingdom, USA | Language: English (with full English subtitles available)

“In My Room” is a coming of age film. It takes place within the walls of the rooms of 6 teenagers around the world. It is based on archival materials shot by them behind closed doors and then posted on YouTube. They are not internet sensations or celebrities, just teenagers talking to themselves and to anyone who is willing to listen. The film follows a chronological timeline. It starts in 2008, the year they shot their first videos, and follows them throughout their presence on YouTube.

Thank You For Playing | Director: David Osit   Malika Zouhali-Worrall  
Year of production: 2015| Country of production: USA | Language: English (with full English subtitles available)

When Ryan, a video game designer, learns that his young son Joel has cancer, he and his wife begin documenting their emotional journey in the form of an unusual and poetic video game. The result is a game called “That Dragon, Cancer” – an astoundingly honest and innovative work of art about the universal complexity of grief. Thank You For Playing follows Ryan and his family over two years, offering an intimate, revolutionary glimpse into how the fusion of art and technology – in this case, a video game – can document profound human experiences in the modern age.

CODE | Director: Robin Hauser Reynolds  
Year of production: 2015| Country of production: USA | Language: English (with full English subtitles available)

CODE exposes the dearth of American female and minority software engineers and explores the reasons for this gender gap, raising the question: What would society gain from having more women and minorities in the tech industry, and how do we get there?
Tech jobs are growing three times faster than our colleges are producing computer science graduates. By 2020, there will be one million unfilled software engineering jobs in the USA.

The Internet’s Own Boy | Director: Brian Knappenberger  
Year of production: 2014| Country of production: USA | Language: English (with full English subtitles available)

Programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz has his fingerprints all over the internet—he was integral to the development of the basic internet protocol RSS and co—founded the global social news and entertainment website Reddit. But it was Swartz’s groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing combined with his aggressive approach to information access that ensnared him in a two—year legal nightmare. It was a battle that ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 26.

The Human Face of Big Data | Director: Sandy Smolan  
Year of production: 2012| Country of production: USA | Language: English (with full English subtitles available)

Big Data is defined as the real time collection, analyses, and visualization of vast amounts of information. In the hands of Data Scientists this raw information is fueling a revolution which many people believe may have as big an impact on humanity going forward as the Internet has over the past two decades. Its enabling us to sense, measure, and understand aspects of our existence in ways never before possible.
The Human Face of Big Data captures an extraordinary revolution sweeping, almost invisibly, through business, academia, government, healthcare, and everyday life.

We Are Legion | Director: Brian Knappenberger  
Year of production: 2012| Country of production: USA | Language: English (with full English subtitles available)

We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists takes us inside the world of Anonymous, the radical “hacktivist” collective that has redefined civil disobedience for the digital age. The film explores the historical roots of early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater and traces how they evolved and coalesced into Anonymous, a full-blown movement with global reach and extraordinary power.

CERN | Director: Nikolaus Geyrhalter  
Year of production: 2013| Country of production: Austria | Language: English (with full English subtitles available)

Multi-awarded director Nikolaus Geyrhalter delivers stunning images from inside the immense CERN apparatus. Alternated with interviews with the experts who devised and operate this gigantic big bang machine, the film gives an insight into the complex experimental research institution that can be seen as a mirror of our inquisitive society.

Life 2.0 | Director: Jason Spingarn-Koff  
Year of production: 2010| Country of production: USA | Language: English (with full English subtitles available)

Every day, across all corners of the globe, millions of users log onto Second Life, a virtual online world populated by real-life-like avatars. Life 2.0 follows a group of people whose lives are dramatically consumed by the virtual world of Second Life. They reside in this new reality, where inhabitants assume alternate personas in the form of avatars—with digital alter egos that can be sculpted and manipulated on a whim.

Powerless | Director: Fahad Mustafa   Deepti Kakkar  
Year of production: 2013| Country of production: India | Language: English, Urdu (with full English subtitles available)

Would you risk your life to flip a switch?
Shariq, a 22-year-old electrician living in Kanpur, is renowned for his prowess in stealing electricity. In the face of day-long power-cuts, he runs illegal connections from one neighborhood to another so that homes, factories and businesses are not left in the dark. Meanwhile, the city administration is renewing its efforts to clamp down on power-theft, which costs them millions of rupees in losses each year. Powerless sheds light on the opposing corners of this political ring, from an electrical Robin Hood to the myopic utility company.