rip!: A REMIX MANIFESTO Music documentary, Canada 2008, 86 min.

Director: Brett Gaylor Starring: Girl Talk, Lawrence Lessig, Cory Doctorow and Gilberto Gil

The documentary “rip! A Remix Manifesto” is about copyright in the information age of new media. The line between consumers and producers is becoming increasingly blurred. A must-see film for anyone concerned with copyright, sampling, mash-ups, Gema fees, collages and Creative Commons.

What impact does the digital evolution have on copyright law? Which law applies and who has to abide by it? Rip! A Remix Manifesto’ deals with the effects of digital media on authorship. Over several years, Canadian director Brett Gaylor has collected interviews, films and found footage to examine the current debate on copyright issues in music culture. The Canadian documentary filmmaker focuses primarily on the question of copyright. How does an author define himself on the Internet, how can he protect his intellectual property? Can remixing be considered an independent, artistic craft? The answer from copyright holders is clear. They are trying to prevent these forms of use. But whether they will succeed remains questionable.

The film was shown at various film festivals and won the special jury prize in Montreal and the audience award at the Doc Filmfestival in Amsterdam.

This year, the Edith Russ House for Media Art has made the question of copying and the (artistic) practices of copying, with all their legal, ethical and aesthetic implications, a key theme. A second film and concert event in the fall will once again refer to this question. The exhibition Cultures of Copy, a cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Hong Kong, will present a variety of current artistic positions on the subject of copying from November 26, 2010.

Admission: 6 € / reduced 4 €