Film is apparently keeping up with our changing world because the 44th annual Seattle International Film Festival, happening now through June 10th, has several films about social media and how it has changed our world….including an LGBTQ offering LOOKING FOR, a Taiwanese documentary screening later today, and HARD PAINT, an erotic romantic drama from Brazil about an online sex worker/artist.
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When Social Media Intertwines with Reality
Time and time again, social media has proven to be an instant tool of social commentary, networking, and a free flow of ideas. It is a place where the strength and influence of communities and personalities lie in sheer numbers, and where it is impossible to disregard its pitfalls and shortcomings. SIFF Spotlight highlights a unique blend of programming centered around the ups and downs of social media, that takes you through the blurred lines of online identities and reality.
Hard Paint
A thrilling love story about a shy twentysomething online erotic worker, famous for his neon paint-slathered blacklight dances, who ventures out of his comfort zone to defend his space as a performer and finds unexpected tenderness in the heart of an unforgiving city.
Jinn
A rift develops between Summer, a carefree high school senior, and her mother, who has recently converted to a strict Islamic practice, that grows wider as the teen fights to discover her own identity and finds herself attracted to a Muslim classmate. Winner of the Special Jury Prize for Writing at the SXSW Film Festival.
Looking For?
What should be one of the simplest of questions in setting up a dating profile isn’t so easy for gay Taiwanese filmmaker Chou Tung-Yen to answer, leading him on a globetrotting journey interviewing a variety of men who share their stories of love and lust to reveal how dating in the gay community has changed since the rise of dating apps.
People’s Republic of Desire
Take a fascinating journey inside China’s digital idol-making universe, where individuals morph into improbable on-line celebrities, captivating millions of viewers and earning hundreds of thousands of dollars by soliciting donations in exchange for virtual connection. Winner of the documentary Grand Jury Prize at the SXSW Film Festival.
Rust
When a teenage girl’s cellphone sex video with a former boyfriend goes viral, she commits a brutal, desperate act for all the world to see, sending shockwaves throughout her high school and suburban community in this striking drama from Brazil.
Team Hurricane
Director Annika Berg combines raw documentary footage with stylized pop culture visuals to create the ultimate punk coming-of-age film in which eight rebels, all found on social media, play themselves and explore their artistry and expression while managing painful realities.
About the Author: Michael Strangeways
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