The most ambitious project ever conceived on the Internet: Google's master plan to scan every book in the world and the people trying to stop them. Google says they are building a library for mankind, but some say they also have other intentions.
The story of the most ambitious project ever conceived on the Internet. In 2002 Google began to scan millions of books in an effort to create a giant global library, containing every book in existence. They had an even greater purpose - to create a higher form of intelligence, something that HG Wells had predicted in his 1937 essay "World Brain". But over half the books Google scanned were in copyright, and authors across the world launched a campaign to stop Google, which climaxed in a New York courtroom in 2011. A film about the dreams, dilemmas and dangers of the Internet.
| Director | Ben Lewis |
| Executive Producer | Carles Brugueras |
| Producer | Bettina Walter |
| Editor | Simon Barker |
| Director of Photography | Frank-Peter Lehmann |
| Music | Lucas Ariel Vallejos |
| UK Producer | Viva Van Loock |
| Production Executive | Madeleine Sheahan |
| Line Producer | Liz Roberts |
| Junior Production Manager | Júlia Aragay |
| Post-Production Manager | Rose Kowalski |
| Associate Development Producer | Melanie Horkan |
| Development Producer BLTV | Fiona O'Doherty |
| Editorial Adviser | Danielle Schleif |
| Production Accountants |
Georgia Simon, Spain Norman Clarke, UK |
| Production Assistants |
Katharina Harnack Anton Corbal Iva Boytcheva Anna Ibañez |
| Delegate Producer for TVC | Ruth Llòria |
| Archive Researcer | Gordon King |
| Researchers |
Isabel Andrés-Porti, Spain Lisa Berger, Spain Sonia Tercero – Spain Ignasi Brugueras, Internet Daniel Nehm, French Emma He, China |
| Fixers on location |
Clara Aymami, Mexico Heath Cozens, Japan Victor Ruiperez, Spain |
| Additional Photography |
Juan Luis Cabellos Aitor Echeverría Rose Kowalski Ben Lewis |
| H.G. Wells Actor | Brendan Price |
| Make-up | Pilartxo Diez |
| Wardrobe | Ana Morera |
| Character Voices |
Nicolas Chapman Joshua Zamrycki Molly Malcom |
| Animation Artwork | Lucas Riess |
| Motion Graphics |
Alexis Gallardo Peter van der Zee |
| Assistant Editor | Judith Miralles |
| Edit Assistants |
Raquel Martinez Ignasi Brugueras |
| Picture Grader | Aaron Pedraza |
| Sound Mixer | Carlos Jiménez |
| Post-Production Facilities |
Apuntolapospo Polar Star Films |
| Programme lawyer | Jan Tomalin |
| Production Insurance | Aon Risk Solutions |
INTERVIEWEES |
|
| AUSTRALIA | W. Boyd Rayward |
| CHINA |
Kaiser Kuo Mian Mian |
| FRANCE | Jean-Noël Jeanneney |
| GERMANY | Roland Reuss |
| INDIA | Amit Singhal |
| JAPAN | Shojiro Akashi |
| RUSSIA | Evgeny Morozov |
| SPAIN |
Luis Collado Damià Roure Jordi Torres |
| UK |
Reginald Carr Richard Ovenden |
| USA |
Robert Darnton Lewis Hyde Kevin Kelly Brewster Kahle Jaron Lanier Lawrence Lessig Pamela Samuelson Clay Shirky Sidney Verba |
| Locations |
Vasconcelos Library, Mexico City Ghent University Library, Belgium National Library of China, Beijing Barcelona Airport, Spain National Assembly, Paris, France The National and University Library of Iceland The Book Storage Facility, Swindon, UK Caixa Forum, Madrid, Spain Heidelberg University Library |
| Archive | NASA, BBC Motion Gallery, FreemantleMedia North America, James Griffioen, IDI Images, Krissy Wilson, Andrew Norman Wilson, IBM,Bundeskanzlerin, Atsuko Masako, Sue Kim |
| Thanks to | Paul Malcom Allen from the H.G. Wells Society, Carles Feliu, Juan Antonio Garcia, Patrici Tixis, Stephen Burgen, Jonas Benarroch, JimJak, Cosima van Dannoritzer, Ramón Blanqué |
"Powerful subject matter, ambitious production and well thought-out arguments successfully generate an interesting story at the same time as creating an uncomfortable atmosphere that grips the viewer."ÂÂÂ
Mònica Planas - Diari ARA
Link
"At the same time that a new Hollywood comedy about Google is being released with great hullabaloo, Lewis cannot get his film distributed in the United States, even though it was a BBC production and exhibited at the Sundance Film Festival." ÂÂÂ
David Lawsky, Politics and Tech Link
“Dans le Livre selon Google, Ben Lewis raconte comment le géant du Web a bien failli accaparer une bonne partie des livres numérisés du monde àson seul profit commercial.†ÂÂÂ
Sophian Fanen, Écrans (Libération.fr) Link
"Google und die Macht des Wissens" [von Ben Lewis] wendet sich dem Internetgiganten zu, ohne sich von ihm überrumpeln zu lassen, und beschreibt beeindruckend anhand eines einzigen Problems, was mit der Welt, in der wir leben, nicht mehr stimmt."
Stefan Schulz, Frankfurter Allgemeine Feuilleton Link
"Ben Lewis sucht in seinem Film Antworten und gibt überraschende Einblicke in ein komplexes Thema."
Buchmarkt Link
"Endlessly fascinating and engaging...It's probably the best documentary you'll see all year...I'll be stunned if this doesn't end up on the Oscar doc short-list."
Lucas McNelly - Huffington Post Link
"A useful step forward in a conversation most of us don't realize we should be having... Doc offers convincing reasons to pay more attention to Google's utopian schemes."
John Defore - The Hollywood Reporter Link
"…well-constructed….The documentary convincingly points out that Google's ambitions aren't entirely philanthropic, but meant to continue to improve their Search algorithms, and find ways to monetise their enormous stores of information… surprisingly effective".
Anthony Kaufman - Screen Daily Link
"Whatever Sundance is, it has fine documentaries. 'Google and the World Brain'. A whip-smart examination of the pros and cons of Google's desire to digitize every book on Earth."
Kenneth Turan - Critic's Notebook, Los Angeles Times Link
"The message of this beautifully crafted film is that the Internet is exactly half of what you think it is… 'Google and the World Brain' is a masterful documentary. It will undoubtedly have an effect on anyone who sees it."
Julie Fischer - Indiewire Link
"…intriguing … H.G. Wells wasn't far off when he imagined the future being home to a 'world brain'. Lewis' documentary isn't that different from the science fiction author's own forward thinking."
Matt Patches - Hollywood.com Link
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