In September 1996, 21-year-old Ricardo López mailed a package to pop singer Björk containing a device rigged to spray sulfuric acid to kill or disfigure her. Upon his return home, he committed suicide, leaving behind nearly twenty hours of video diaries recorded over nine months as evidence of his actions. The diaries not only captured the building of the letter bomb, but also López's personal thoughts on his life, his family, and his sanity. Twenty years after these diaries were discovered, they shock and fascinate curious viewers in an online world.
Self (archive footage)
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.
Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains and the Future of the Internet takes a deep dive into the crypto ecosystem and blockchain technology to discover the good, the bad and the ugly of this controversial industry, its major narratives, conflicts and the major players behind it. Can blockchain technology be used to create a new, fairer, decentralised and uncensored web3.0 where we can control our data and protect our online identities? Or will the potential be squandered as mega corporations once again compete for dominance in this new field. With his unrivalled and exclusive access, award-winning filmmaker Torsten Hoffman (Bitcoin: The End of Money as We Know It) takes us on a journey into the heart of this brave new world.
Pros and cons of private life going public
A first-hand look into the revolutionary rise of the “citizen investigative journalist” collective known as Bellingcat. Comprised of various distinct personalities from around the globe, Bellingcat is an online association of talented and dedicated truth-seekers utilizing advanced digital research techniques to upend the world of journalism. De facto leader Eliot and his fellow researchers give us exclusive access into their tight-knit world as they demonstrate the unlimited power of open source investigation. In cases ranging from the MH17 disaster to the hidden crimes of the Syrian regime, the group’s power and growing global influence is examined and explored.
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?
This film tells the competition in the telecommunication sector over the last years, in order to make us understand its stakes and the industrial and commercial logics. The story is told by its four main characters : Martin Bouygues, Stéphane Richard, Xavier Niel and Patrick Drahi.
This documentary reveals how a group of hackers powered the darkest corners of the internet from a Cold War-era bunker in a quiet German tourist town.
Using real cases, this documentary demonstrates the extent to which violent criminals can use social media to locate and manipulate victims.
a movie about Donald Trump, Martian technopolitical fictions, Facebook/Youtube algorithmic rabbit holes, white male online radicalization & prank-pretended memetic warfare.
This is a thoughtful and mature documentary that considers whether online rage has real-world consequences. Baddiel has experienced antisemitic abuse on Twitter, where he has 785,000 followers. He has had brushes with what is called “cancel culture” and “callout culture”, when users have criticised his use of blackface on TV in the 1990s, for which he has apologised. He is also a self-confessed social media addict – by which he really means Twitter, his primary focus here – and self-aware enough to admit that while he feels he needs it to promote his work, he also understands that he has a psychological need for an audience, and by extension, for audience approval.
This is the true story of a love triangle that takes place entirely online. Lies lead to murder in real life, as a teenage vixen (screen name 'talhotblond') lures men into her web. Revealing a shocking true crime story that shows the Internet's power to unleash our most dangerous fantasies.
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.
Jack Rebney is the most famous man you've never heard of - after cursing his way through a Winnebago sales video, Rebney's outrageously funny outtakes became an underground sensation and made him an internet superstar. Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer journeys to the top of a mountain to find the recluse who unwittingly became the "Winnebago Man".
After finding some videos she uploaded to YouTube when she was a child, Manuela attempts to follow the trail she herself has left on the Internet. A search that looks into all that things that won't never die and that, especially, thinks about the way we look at ourselves.
Why do people vent such toxic opinions online? Filmmaker Kyrre Lien spent three years travelling the world to find out who these anonymous ‘internet warriors’ are and why they do it.
"Cicada 3301: Internet Mystery" explores the enigmatic online puzzle known as Cicada 3301. In a quest that captivated the internet, this video delves into the intricate challenges and cryptographic puzzles presented by Cicada 3301, engaging viewers in the mysterious world of code-breaking and online intrigue.