Watching the Detectives

SCREENING & LIVE EVENT
Watching the Detectives

Part of First Look 2019
Saturday, January 19, 2019, 2:00 p.m.
Museum of the Moving Image - Bartos Screening Room

With director Chris Kennedy in person

Dir. Chris Kennedy. Canada. 2017, 37 mins. Silent. 16mm. The “detectives” in Chris Kennedy’s mesmerizing and extremely timely film include online trolls and conspiracy theorists who take to discussion groups like Reddit and 4chan to commandeer the conversation about controversial current events. With his 16mm camera focused on a computer screen, Kennedy monitors the discussion that spread online immediately after the Boston Marathon Bombing. The self-appointed detectives scoured through photographs and videos to come to conclusions (usually misguided, frequently racist) about the culprit. By allowing us to watch the detectives, Kennedy’s film raises vital questions for our age of misinformation. New York premiere.

Preceded by Lasting Marks (Dir. Charlie Lyne. United Kingdom. 2018, 14 mins.) Sixteen men were put on trial for sadomasochism in the dying days of Thatcher's Britain, ignorantly scapegoated and shamed by those wishing to score points off the acts of consenting adults. First Look veteran Charlie Lyne crafts a potent corrective by pairing slides of archival documents with a candid audio interview with one of the condemned men reflecting upon these events and their consequences. North American premiere. 

Tickets: $15 (Free for members at the Film Lover level and MoMI Kids Premium levels and above). Order tickets online. (Members may contact [email protected] with questions regarding online reservations.)

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