mycontinent: North America
My IP Plug: 3.239.33.139

Hey there! You have free access to great documentaries thanks to your library.

The Cleaners

Looking for the perfect film for a class or campus screening? Let our team of expert recommend the right film for you.

Fill out the following details, and we will be in touch ASAP with our film recommendations.

REQUEST A TRIAL

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
The Cleaners - Purchase Now
Filmplatform
Contact us if you can't find the right license option for your library.
IMPORTANT NOTE
Please make sure your school supports IP Authentication through VPN or a Proxy Server before making your purchase. If not sure, please contact us.
Coming Soon
Thank you for your interest in our latest release. This film will be available for educational distribution shortly.
Please fill in your email details below and we will contact you with additional information.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
The Cleaners - Login To Watch
To start watching, please select your school and use your professor or student login

Name of School / University
If you cannot find your university in the list above, fill the details below to request access to Film Platform.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Back
Book a Screening
Thank you for your interest in holding a screening of The Cleaners.
 Please let us know a couple of key details, and we will be in touch with you ASAP to book in a screening.
Streaming Enquiry
Choose from the following options:
Back
Unverified IP
Hmmm… you appear to be coming from an unverified IP address.

If you are coming from off campus, your university may request additional login details. Please select your university name in order to access streaming via your library's network.

Name of School / University
If you cannot find your university in the list above, fill the details below to request access to Film Platform.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.


Open troubleshooting

Back
Purchase your streaming access here
Filmplatform
Click here to learn more about this license

Please get in touch if you have any questions about this streaming booking.

The Cleaners

Back
Set Up Streaming
Thank you for your interest in streaming The Cleaners
Please let us know a couple of key details, and we will be in touch to discuss your interest in streaming access.

Study Guide
Our study guides are available exclusively for licensed Film Platform users. Please get in contact for more information on our different licensing options.

  • Don't see the option you want? Contact us

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Streaming Access
Unfortunately, this film is not available in your territory. Please provide us with your contact details so we can give you more information on possible purchase options.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Streaming Access
Unfortunately, this film is not available for streaming yet.
As soon as it will be available for streaming, it will appear in your university streaming page.
Request From My library
More information
Thank you for your interest in The Cleaners.
Please let us know a couple of key details, and we will be in touch with you ASAP.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The Cleaners

.
Moritz Riesewieck, Hans Block 2018

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.
Trailer
Running Time: 95 min.
Subject(s): Current Affairs, Human Rights, Internet, Law and Justice, Media, Society, Technology
Language(s): English
Director(s):
Moritz Riesewieck, Hans Block
Producer(s): Christian Beetz & Georg Tschurtschenthaler
Editor(s): Philipp Gromov, Hansjörg Weißbrich, Markus CM Schmidt

Press

  • VIDEO LIBRARIAN
    The Cleaners
    (2018) 95 min.
    With the rising proliferation of false, inflammatory, and pornographic material in social media postings, this disturbing documentary by filmmakers Moritz Riesewieck and Hans Block raises the pressing question of whether the poisonous effect can be removed or at least mitigated, and if so who should lead that effort. The film takes us to Manila, where Filipino workers are engaged (through intermediary firms) by such Internet giants as Facebook and Google to scan submissions to their sites and “ignore” or “delete” them according to self-imposed rules regarding content. These workers, most from poor backgrounds, endure a daily diet of questionable postings and must make split-second decisions about whether or not to allow them, often prompted not just by company policy but also by personal beliefs, such as their Catholic faith. The pernicious effect on these “cleaners” is one of the film’s major concerns—one worker committed suicide after constantly watching grisly videos—but larger geopolitical issues are also addressed, often through interviews with former tech executives. The questions are whether powerful companies should be permitted to outsource their responsibility to police material that can incite ethnic violence against minorities or pervert democratic processes, and if broader governmental intervention is called for. The Cleaners offers no easy answers—indeed, the film suggests there might be none—but it does a useful service in addressing the extent of the problem. Recommended. Aud: C, P.
    F. Swietek
  • The Verge
    "The Cleaners is a riveting documentary about how social media might be ruining the world"
    Brian Bishop
  • The Hollywood Reporter
    "Stylish doc exposes must-discuss issues regarding the companies who dominate the internet"
    John DeFore
  • Variety
    "This thorough, yet conflicted globe-trotting documentary thriller meets the social media censors struggling to save the web"
    Amy Nicholson

Festival Participation

  • Sundance - 2018
    World Premiere
  • IFFR - 2018
    European Premiere
  • FIFDH - 2018
    Winner- Gilda Vieira De Mello Award

Distribution Company

This Week’s Featured Films