On the 40th anniversary of the Internet, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC tells the story of the effect the web is having on our society, as seen through the eyes of “the greatest Internet pioneer you’ve never heard of,” visionary Josh Harris. Award-winning director, Ondi Timoner (DIG!), documented his tumultuous life for more than a decade, to create a riveting, cautionary tale of what to expect as the virtual world inevitably takes control of our lives.
Josh Harris, often called the “Warhol of the Web,” founded Pseudo.com, the first Internet television network during the infamous dot-com boom of the 1990s. He also created his vision of the future: an underground bunker in NYC where 100 people lived together on camera for 30 days over the turn of the millennium. (The project, named QUIET, also became the subject of Ondi Timoner’s first cut of her documentary about Harris. Her film shared the project’s name.) With Quiet, Harris proved how, in the not-so-distant future of life online, we will willingly trade our privacy for the connection and recognition we all deeply desire. Through his experiments, including another six-month stint living under 24-hour live surveillance online which led him to mental collapse, he demonstrated the price we will all pay for living in public.
Post-screening Q&A with Director Ondi Timoner in person.
Ondi Timoner, Director</>
Ondi Timoner — the only filmmaker to win the Sundance grand jury award twice in history — graduated from Yale University cum laude and founded Interloper Films in 1994.
She has achieved worldwide critical acclaim with her feature length documentary, DIG! — which took home the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival (2004). Her short film, Recycle (2005) was a winner at the ICG Awards, and screened at both Sundance and Cannes.
Since DIG!, Ondi has also directed commercials for McDonald’s, State Farm, DeVry, the Army and Ford, which has helped her independently fund her latest film projects, JOIN US, released in 2007, and her next feature release, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC.
Whether it’s rock music, religious cults, or the virtual world of the Internet, Ondi always takes the viewer deep into worlds they would never otherwise explore. Her iconoclastic work is noteworthy for telling stories that unfold over time with incredible access and emotional depth.
In March 2008, Ondi traveled to Ethiopia to shoot THE GREATEST GIFT, a short film for the non-profit organization, One Love Africa Schools. In October, Ondi returned to Africa, traveling to Ethiopia and Senegal, where she directed/produced two shorts for the prestigious annual show CNN: HEROES.
Upcoming projects include two narrative feature films, THE PERFECT MOMENT, about the controversial work and life of Robert Mapplethorpe.