Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death & Technology
Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Documentary
Street Date: March 12, 2013
Available On: DVD

The Film: Tiffany Shlain is a documentary filmmaker and trailblazer in the digital realm (she founded the Webby Awards). “Connected” is the result of a year-long search for understanding how people connect with each other and the way that the internet is changing, or not changing, the process.

The Extras: Two Short Films

Recommendation: For the first ten minutes of “Connected” I was convinced that the film was going to be nothing more than a superficial autobiography of a prominent web personality. It felt empty, gimmicky and a bit phony. Then the focus unexpectedly shifts to something far more serious and less indulgent as Shlain’s father is diagnosed with brain cancer. The change in tone suits the film well as Shlain struggles to find a way to capture not only her father’s legacy but also a sense of his vibrant personality as his health rapidly declines. What starts as a mundane and inaccessible journey turns into something intensely personal and universal at the same time.

-Ryan Michael Painter