Untitled Internet Archive Film

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TYPE: Documentary Feature
GENRE: Documentary
STATUS: Development

LOGLINE

In a bold effort to save the Internet’s “Great Library” from ruin, tech trailblazer Brewster Kahle—founder of the Internet Archive—battles the powerful publishing and recording industries, threatening to erase our collective access to knowledge and dismantle our online freedoms.

SYNOPSIS

In a bold effort to save the Internet’s “Great Library” from ruin, tech trailblazer Brewster Kahle—founder of the Internet Archive—battles the powerful publishing and recording industries, threatening to erase our collective access to knowledge and dismantle our online freedoms. This documentary tells the story of one of the early Internet’s free and open-source technologists and his urgent fight to protect digital freedom and preserve the public’s access to knowledge.

ARTISTIC STATEMENT

This film delves into the critical role libraries play in safeguarding open access to knowledge, spotlighting the Internet Archive as a modern digital library at the center of a legal storm. Brewster Kahle’s creation of the Internet Archive, with its mission of providing “Universal Access to All Knowledge,” is more than a digital resource—it is a beacon of the core values libraries have upheld for centuries. But now, this mission faces an existential threat. As publishing and recording industries wage legal battles, citing copyright violations, they aim to reshape the digital landscape in ways that could cripple access to information. This isn’t just about protecting one digital library; it’s about defending the future of all libraries, and the very notion of public access to knowledge. If Kahle and the Internet Archive fall, it will signal a profound shift, where knowledge becomes the exclusive domain of those who can pay for it or control it. The film not only follows Kahle’s fight in the courtroom but also profiles those who rely on the Internet Archive for its vast collection—from historical web pages to rare, out-of-print books, to vintage musical recordings. Their stories underscore the importance of free, unencumbered access to information, a right libraries have historically defended. At its core, this film makes a case for why libraries—physical and digital—are vital to a free and open society. As the internet increasingly falls under corporate control, the fight for open access represents the fight for our digital future. Libraries remain the frontline in this battle, and this film shines a light on why their survival is crucial to the public’s right to freely share and access knowledge.

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