Its title is curious, but its subject is one I predict will be of interest to anyone who’s dabbled or lives within the realms of social media, so yeah, everyone. Catfish, is a feature documentary film that premiered at Sundance this week and caught my eye based solely on its premise. Yaniv Schulman, a 24-year-old New York–based photographer, had no idea what he was in for when eight-year-old Abby Pierce in rural Michigan contacted him on MySpace to ask permission to paint one of his photographs. She sent him her work (clearly advanced for her age), and Yaniv began a friendship and correspondence with Abby’s family. But things really got interesting when he developed a cyber-romance with Abby’s attractive older sister, Megan, a musician and model. When Yaniv and his buddies uncovered some startling revelations about Megan, they set off on a road trip to figure out who this family really were. Being in NY, thousands of miles away from Sundance, I’ve yet to see the film, but I’ve read that the narrative moves along, more or less, day-by-day as events happen, linking scenes together with Google Maps animation and YouTube clips, GPS instructions and IM exchanges, reminding the audience of our ever present “connected” world. What a perfect premise for a documentary - social media presenting a connection where the virtual doesn’t translate into the reality.  Now, I’ve found there are so many good things that come with being connected to a community like Tumblr or Twitter. Yet, there are many people out there who have experienced the downside of finding a relationship that wasn’t what it appeared to be online.  I love this concept of capturing the Zeitgeist and engaging an audience on the deceptive side of social media. It’s fascinating. I hope the film is released soon. The fine folks at MakingOf interviewed the filmmakers about their first feature documentary and the whole Sundance experience. You can check out that video interview here.
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Its title is curious, but its subject is one I predict will be of interest to anyone who’s dabbled or lives within the realms of social media, so yeah, everyone. Catfish, is a feature documentary film that premiered at Sundance this week and caught my eye based solely on its premise.

Yaniv Schulman, a 24-year-old New York–based photographer, had no idea what he was in for when eight-year-old Abby Pierce in rural Michigan contacted him on MySpace to ask permission to paint one of his photographs. She sent him her work (clearly advanced for her age), and Yaniv began a friendship and correspondence with Abby’s family. But things really got interesting when he developed a cyber-romance with Abby’s attractive older sister, Megan, a musician and model. When Yaniv and his buddies uncovered some startling revelations about Megan, they set off on a road trip to figure out who this family really were.

Being in NY, thousands of miles away from Sundance, I’ve yet to see the film, but I’ve read that the narrative moves along, more or less, day-by-day as events happen, linking scenes together with Google Maps animation and YouTube clips, GPS instructions and IM exchanges, reminding the audience of our ever present “connected” world.

What a perfect premise for a documentary - social media presenting a connection where the virtual doesn’t translate into the reality.  Now, I’ve found there are so many good things that come with being connected to a community like Tumblr or Twitter. Yet, there are many people out there who have experienced the downside of finding a relationship that wasn’t what it appeared to be online.  I love this concept of capturing the Zeitgeist and engaging an audience on the deceptive side of social media. It’s fascinating. I hope the film is released soon.

The fine folks at MakingOf interviewed the filmmakers about their first feature documentary and the whole Sundance experience. You can check out that video interview here.

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