We Live in Public

(USA, 2008, 90 mins, HDCAM)

EXEC PRODS: Sean McKeough, Vladimir Radovanov, John Battsek, Andrew Ruhemann
PRODS: Ondi Timoner, Keirdra Bahruth
SCR: Ondi Timoner
CAM: Ondi Timoner, Vasco Nunes
EDS: Ondi Timoner, Josh Altman
MUS: Ben Decter, Marco d'Ambrosio

“Maybe you have to be delusional to be a visionary,” Ondi Timoner (DiG! ) suggests in her latest portrait of a subculture maverick. On this occasion, her subject is Josh Harris, “the greatest Internet pioneer you’ve never heard of.” Masterfully incorporating a decade’s worth of footage, Timoner assembles a constantly riveting and often harrowing portrait of the one-time “Warhol of the Web.” After launching the first online television network in the mid-90s, Harris applied his fixation with voyeurism and exhibitionism to less innocuous pursuits. Foremost amongst these was "Quiet," an underground compound where residents consented to constant surveillance and Stasi-style interrogations.

Timoner’s investigation into Harris’ past exploits couldn’t be more timely. The dotcom mogul’s sometimes sadistic “social experiments” evidence that he was well ahead of the curve in recognizing and exploiting the fact that a) we love to watch and b) we love to be watched. Ultimately, this fascinating, dramatic study of one man’s devotion to offering everyone a virtual venue for their fifteen minutes (a day) of fame provides “a compelling cautionary tale for a society obsessed with posting practically all of our lives on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube et al.”--The New York Times

Winner, Grand Jury Prize, Sundance 2009

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