Experiencing Interruptions?

Stare Into The Lights My Pretties

We live in a world of screens. More of us would know this, if we look up, and look around. The screens are everywhere, pervasive: Fingers that are glued to the screen which are glued to the eyes which are glued to the screen. We use them for work, play. But it’s much more than that. The screens use us, too. How did we get here? And where’s this journey leading us? What does that even look like? And is it what we want? Is this culture’s technology changing us and our societies for the better? Does it empower all of us—like it claims to—or does it only empower a select few at the expense of the many? What’s the price we pay to live in this pervasive electronic world?

This era is unprecedented, and perhaps never before has technology been so prolific and shaped our lives so intimately. But there’s a dark side we don’t talk about. Why is that? Is it because we’re too busy being glued to the screen? Why do we shy away from questions about our collective addiction? What’s lurking under the surface?

Could it be that with this era, the stakes have also never been so high that we’ve got it all wrong?

  • Jordan Brown
    Director
  • Jordan Brown
    Writer
  • Katina Michael, Susan Greenfield, Sherry Turkle, Nicholas Carr, Eli Pariser, Derrick Jensen, Douglas Rushkoff, Roger Clarke, Lelia Green
    Key Cast
  • Jore, Ólafur Arnalds, Bonobo, Soundsource, Bzaurie, Chris Clark, Rollmottle, Ma Spaventi, Nils Frahm, Sigur Rós, Seame Campbell
    Music
  • Jordan Brown
    Producer
  • Em Styles Patrick Hosey Eric Crouch Isabelle Delannoy Yann Arthus-Bertrand Ron Fricke Schnellebuntebilder Kyle Littlejohn Godfrey Reggio Rekik Anadol Tobias Gremmler Ivan Cash Brian Frank Yordan Zhechev Monika Fleishmann Wolfgang Strauss Vido Yuandao Justine Ezarik David Machado Santos Vasco Sotomaior Kornhaber Brown Matthew Epler Melly Lee James Kwan Refik Anadol Marina Wanderlust Kristopher Lee Brandon Johnson Nicolas Fevrier BigThink TED, TEDx BBC, CNN, ABC
    Additional Footage
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    addiction, mind, psychology, culture, technology, society, impacts, neuroplasticity, the filter bubble, social media, google, facebook, manipulation, futures, criticism, polemical
  • Runtime:
    2 hours 8 minutes 21 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 24, 2017
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • European Cinematography Awards
    Warsaw
    Poland
    January 19, 2018
    Semi-Finalist
  • Eurasia International Film Festival
    Moscow
    Russian Federation
    January 27, 2018
    Award Winner
  • Spotlight Documentary Film Awards
    Atlanta, Georgia
    United States
    June 27, 2018
    Silver Award, Most Unforgettable Film
  • Indie Lincs Film Festival
    Lincoln
    United Kingdom
    March 18, 2018
    Most Challenging Film
  • Move Me Productions Film Festival
    Antwerp
    Belgium
    November 26, 2017
    Best Feature Documentary
  • Festival Internazionale Segni Della Notte
    Paris
    France
    April 11, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Barcelona Planet Film Festival
    Barcelona
    Spain
    March 9, 2018
    Official Selection
  • The Mediterranean Film Festival
    Siracusa
    Italy
    January 2, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Silk Road International Film Festival
    Dublin
    Ireland
    March 7, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Festival Internacional Signos de la Noche
    Paris
    France
    March 1, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Barcelona Around International Film Festival
    Barcelona
    Spain
    March 9, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Fuori Mercato Independent Film Festival
    Como Lombardia
    Italy
    March 22, 2018
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Jordan Brown

Jordan Brown is an activist, artist, musician, and independent film-maker whose work focuses on the interface between the dominant culture and the real impact on people, society and the environment. The social and environmental implications of the pervasive technoculture is a current focus of Jordan’s work—specifically, research and development for a film project taking a critical view of today’s culture of screens, the ‘society of the spectacle,’ and the widespread fascination with simulacra facilitated by technology while the real world burns.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

My name is Jordan Brown and I'm an activist, artist, musician, and film-maker from Melbourne, Australia. All my work is independent and autonomous, driven by a deep passion in supporting movements for positive social and political change.

I'm currently based in Berlin, Germany.

Stare Into The Lights My Pretties is my first feature-length documentary, which has already begun to screen internationally and has won some significant industry awards and accolades so far, including the "Edward Snowden Award" in Argentina, "Most Challenging Film" from Indie Lincs in Lincoln United Kingdom, "Most Unforgettable Film" Silver Award from the Spotlight Film Festival, United States; and winner and semi-finalist accolades from events in Poland, Bangladesh, Russia, Ireland and Belgium.