PressPausePlay

PressPausePlay is a documentary about creativity in the digital age, a film about hope, fear and digital culture. The digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent of people in an unprecedented way, unleashing unlimited creative opportunites. But does democratized culture mean better art, film, music and literature or is true talent instead flooded and drowned in the vast digital ocean of mass culture? Is it cultural democracy or mediocrity? This is the question addressed by PressPausePlay, a documentary film containing interviews with some of the world’s most influential creators of the digital era. The film was shot globally between August 2009 – January 2011, covering more than 150 hours of interview footage with international creatives and thinkers - representing the state of digitized culture today. - Cast, in alphabetical order: OLAFUR ARNALDS, musician, composer, producer SCOTT BELSKY, CEO & founder, Behance BILL DRUMMOND, artist, writer, co-founder of The KLF LENA DUNHAM, director, “Tiny Furniture” SETH GODIN, author, entrepreneur and public speaker KEITH HARRIS, music producer, manager, Motown HOT CHIP, electro-pop band ANDREW KEEN, author, “The Cult of the Amateur” LYKKE LI, singer/songwriter MOBY, artist ANNE HILDE NESET, deputy editor, writer, The Wire magazine. SEAN PARKER, co-founder of Napster AMY PHILLIPS, editor, Pitchfork ROBYN, singer/songwriter HILARY ROSEN, former CEO, RIAA TED SCHILOWITZ, founder, Red Digital Cinema Camera Company HANK SHOCKLEE, music producer, The Bomb Squad ANTHONY VOLODKIN, founder, The Hype Machine BRENDA WALKER, music producer, DJ DAVID WEINBERGER, technologist, co-author of “Cluetrain Manifesto” CHRISTOPHER WEINGARTEN, music journalist, Rolling Stone/Village Voice. - Director's Statement: "After working in the creative industry for a number of years we got a bit tired of the loud complaints regarding the disappearance of business models due to pirating and continuing profit losses. These subjects had been discussed to death at media panels and in newspapers around the world. We felt that an important part of the story had been lost - the unprecedented cultural impact. Sure, there are lots of industry problems caused by technological innovation but there are also enormous new opportunities for creation. In our daily work we encounter numerous people from all over the world that, just like us, have grown up with technology as their friend. We were intrigued by the dichotomy: artists were able to create with the same technology that allowed pirating and was subverting old business models. It might be a bit bold to do a film about something that’s in such rapid transformation, where nothing is set and where you really can’t distinguish between the villains and heroes. But we didn’t want to give a definite answer. We simply wanted to make a snapshot of today - documenting both the positive and negative aspects of democratized culture. You will not walk out of the theatre with more answers, but hopefully with more thoughts." (David Dworsky and Victor Köhler)