Direct to BIFF from Sundance 2020

A powerful exploration of the extreme impact that a relatively small number of engineers in Silicon Valley have over modern-day society, The Social Dilemma deftly tackles concepts like technology addiction, social engineering and surveillance capitalism and makes them visceral, understandable and urgent. Through a unique combination of documentary investigation and entertaining narrative drama, award-winning filmmaker and Boulder’s own Jeff Orlowski (Chasing Ice, Chasing Coral) once again reveals the invisible in a manner that is both enlightening and harrowing.

In The Social Dilemma, Orlowski disrupts the disrupters by unveiling that search engines, networks, instant information and the like are merely tools to lure us in. Once we’re hooked, the real commodity they sell is their ability to influence and manipulate us. The film features stunning interviews with high-profile tech whistleblowers, including Tristan Harris of the Center for Humane Technology; the co-inventor of the Facebook “Like” button, Justin Rosenstein; and Tim Kendall, former president of Pinterest and former director of monetization at Facebook. These are coupled with compelling narrative segments—including a cunning performance by Vincent Kartheiser (“Mad Men”)—that illuminate the very real consequences these seemingly innocent technologies can have on our everyday lives.