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We Live in Public

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WE LIVE IN PUBLIC
Directed byOndi Timoner
Produced byOndi Timoner
Keirda Bahruth
StarringJosh Harris
Edited byOndi Timoner
Joshua Altman
Release date
  • January 19, 2009 (2009-01-19) (Sundance)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$41,711[1]

We Live In Public is a 2009 documentary film by Ondi Timoner about Internet pioneer Josh Harris, indirectly highlighting the loss of privacy in the Internet age.

Synopsis

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The film details the experiences of Josh Harris, a dot-com millionaire who founded Pseudo.com, and who became interested in human experiments testing the effects of media and technology on the development of personal identity. To that end, Harris created the art project "Quiet: We Live in Public", which placed more than one hundred artists in a human terrarium under New York City, with a myriad of webcams following and capturing their every move.[2] Each pod was outfitted by artist Jeff Gompertz[3] with cameras and screens to allow every occupant to monitor every other pod.[4] Following that project, Harris outfitted a loft with 30 surveillance cameras and 66 microphones, broadcasting online his own life with his new girlfriend for a planned 100 days, "becoming the rat in his own experiment". She left and the couple broke up after 81 days.[5]

The film includes commentary from Internet personalities Chris DeWolfe, Jason Calacanis, Douglas Rushkoff, and venture capitalist Fred Wilson, as well as artists and producers involved in the "Quiet: We Live in Public" event such as V. Owen Bush, Jeff Gompertz, Leo Fernekes, Feedbuck, Leo Koenig, Gabriella Latessa, Alex Arcadia, Zeroboy, and Alfredo Martinez.[6]

Awards

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We Live in Public was screened six times at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival before being awarded the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. documentary category.[7] Timoner is the first director in the Sundance Film Festival's history to twice win the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary, having won in 2004 with Dig!.[8][9] We Live in Public was runner-up for Best Documentary at the 2009 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.[10]

Critical response

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On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 82% approval rating, based on 51 reviews. The critics consensus says, "This documentary about Josh Harris' surveillance-as-art project exposes the problems of privacy in the internet age and asks provocative questions about the power of ego in a place where everything is on display."[11] Roger Ebert gave the film four stars, his highest rating, and wrote, "This is a remarkable film about a strange and prophetic man."[12]

References

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  1. ^ "We Live in Public (2009) - Box Office Mojo".
  2. ^ Wallace, Lewis (2009-01-13). "We Live in Public Tracks Net Spycam Madness | Underwire | Wired.com". Blog.wired.com. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  3. ^ "Wired 8.11: Steaming Video". Wired.com. 2009-01-04. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  4. ^ Archived 2008-08-28 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Nicole Powers (2010-02-25). "Ondi Timoner: We Live In Public". SuicideGirls.com. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  6. ^ Huhn, Mary (1999-12-27). "THE MANHATTAN PROJECT: ARTIST JOSH HARRIS CREATES HIS OWN VERSION OF BIG BROTHER FOR THE MILLENNIUM". NY Post. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  7. ^ "We Live In Public". Sundance Film Festival. 2009.
  8. ^ "All these wonderful things: Sundance 2009: WE LIVE IN PUBLIC, ROUGH AUNTIES Take Jury Prizes; Ondi Timoner Makes History as Women Filmmakers Sweep Top Awards". Edendale.typepad.com. 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  9. ^ Nicole Powers (2010-02-25). "Ondi Timoner: We Live In Public". SuicideGirls.com. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  10. ^ "Final Press Release (July 11th, 2009)" (PDF). Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 2009-07-11. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  11. ^ We Live in Public at Rotten Tomatoes
  12. ^ Ebert, Roger (2009-10-14). "But every day we do, we die a little in private". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
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Awards
Preceded by Sundance Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Documentary
2009 		Succeeded by
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