Documentarian Brian Knappenberger chronologizes the tragic story of Aaron Swartz, one of the Internet’s most important figures, who spent his life fighting to make information publicly accessible. Instead of using his prodigy computer programming talents for monetary gain, Swartz put them towards political activism in the name of social justice. Which makes it all the more heartbreaking when ridiculous criminal charges pushed him into taking his own life at the age of 26. I couldn’t have asked for a better audience to see The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz with than the one at SXSW, since the film festival runs parallel with a technology conference (member of the audience gave a standing ovation). Though the documentary may seem like it only appeals to technology enthusiasts, the story is universally shocking and the message it delivers should inspire us all.

Aaron Swartz began to show signs of an extraordinary ability to learn at a very early age. Old home videos prove he was able to read at a young age as well as document his boundless enthusiasm to share what he learned with his younger brothers. His instinctive mission statement to share knowledge with others continued to grow when his family introduced him to computers around the age of 3 or 4. Swartz became obsessed with computers, teaching himself how to write different programming languages. By the time he finished high school, Swartz built an open-access online encyclopedia that allowed anyone to add and edit articles. And this was before Wikipedia even existed.

It wasn’t until after Swartz had helped develop the Rich Site Summary (RSS) protocol, launch Creative Commons, and co-founded the popular website Reddit, that he really began to infuse political activism into his repertoire. As a research fellow at Harvard University, Swartz wrote a script that could automatically download the entire catalog of academic journal articles from JSTOR he had access to. However, campus security caught him in the act of saving these articles to a hard drive plugged into their network. Everything spiraled out of control when federal prosecutors tried to make an example out of Swartz by charging him with 13 outrageous felony counts and up to $1 million in fines. Just two days after receiving a second denial for a plea bargain, Swartz tragically took his own life presumably from the built up pressure by the government.

While the story of Aaron Swartz is unquestionably tragic, The Internet’s Own Boy is surprisingly inspirational, focusing on what Swartz was fighting for and not dwelling on the details of his death. The documentary reflects Swartz’s lofty ambitions to protect our freedom of information. After all, limiting our access to information ultimately limits our ability to learn, evolve, and create. However, the documentary is not without its flaws. The Internet’s Own Boy idealizes its own subject and therefore introduces obvious bias towards its topics, essentially resulting in a tribute documentary. The duration is felt a couple of times when the documentary meanders a bit, like when it dedicates a chapter on explaining the SOPA bill. Despite some of its shortcomings, The Internet’s Own Boy remains a deeply compelling documentary about some of the most important issues of the Information Age.

The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz trailer

A trailer for Brian Knappenberger’s fascinating documentary The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz is now available for consumption. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival with a warm reception, then it played at SXSW (where I saw it), and it just recently showed at Hot Docs.

The documentary shows the tragic life of the computer programming wunderkind Aaron Swartz, a co-founder of the popular website Reddit, whose social justice and political hacktivism led to 13 barbaric felony counts from the FBI. The government was essentially just trying to make an example out of him by piling on so many charges and fines against Swartz, ultimately the pressure of it all led to Swartz taking his own life at the age of 26.

The Internet’s Own Boy delivers important messages of social awareness and political injustice in an insightful way, making the documentary a must-see. Watch the trailer below.

The Internet’s Own Boy trailer

I was pleasantly surprised in the amount of quality films that I saw at the 2014 SXSW Film Festival, although I admit that I was fairly selective in the titles I wanted to see. My favorites range from time-traveling comedies to 80s throwbacks to absurd cult deprogramming. There were only a couple letdowns in the little more than a dozen films I saw, but even those had at least some redeeming qualities to them. A quick list of the more buzzed about films at the festival that I didn’t get a chance to see (thus didn’t make my list); Boyhood, Wild Canaries, Buzzard, and 10,000KM (Long Distance).

7 Favorite Films From SXSW 2014

#7 – Frank

What makes Frank such an entertaining watch is its whimsical approach to the outlandish storytelling. I had a couple minor issues with the film, but as a whole Frank is a sidesplitting comedy about finding one’s inner creativity.
Frank review

#6 – Ping Pong Summer

Apparently it was the year for 80s throwbacks at SXSW. While The Guest (also on this list) is a throwback to the action/thriller genre from that era, Ping Pong Summer is a nostalgic family vacation story that is filled with just about every cheesy cliché from the decade. It’s totally rad!
Ping Pong Summer review

#5 – The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz

You don’t have to be a tech geek to understand the brilliance of computer programming guru Aaron Swartz or the impact of his work that prematurely ended when extraneous federal charges pressured him into committing suicide. This documentary reminds us that limiting the access to information is crippling on all levels.
The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz review

#4 – Open Windows

Serving as an exploitation of technology and a satire on our obsession with Hollywood stars, Nacho Vigalondo’s Open Windows is a high concept thrill ride with numerous twists and turns along the way. Comparisons to a 21st century Rear Window aren’t unjust.
Open Windows review

#3 – The Infinite Man

The Infinite Man is an impressive directorial debut from Hugh Sullivan who bravely tackles the complex subject of time-travel with relative comfort. Intending to fix an anniversary weekend gone awry, the main character creates a machine to travel back in time to save his relationship.
The Infinite Man review

#2 – The Guest

The only midnight film I caught at the festival happened to be one of my favorites. The Guest is a 80s inspired atmospheric thriller that wonderfully combines Terminator like action with a pulsating soundtrack and thrills of Halloween. This is the perfect film to watch with a rowdy midnight crowd.
The Guest review

#1 – Faults

One of the most unique films I saw at the festival this year was an off the wall comedy called Faults, a film about an eccentric cult deprogrammer who is hired by a couple to help snap their daughter out of a cult spell. Faults is completely absurd and challenging in all the right ways.
Faults review

Before I Disappear

Shawn Christensen converts his Academy Award winning short film featuring a man who discovers his motivation to stay alive into a full feature film with Before I Disappear. Richie (Christensen) is asked to turn the other way when a woman is found dead on the floor of a bathroom from a heroin overdose. Feeling a stronger connection to her than any living person in his life, Richie considers this to be the final straw of his own miserable life. But as he sits in a bathtub filled with his own blood, a phone call interrupts his attempted suicide. On the other line is his estranged sister (Emmy Rossum) begging him to watch her daughter niece (Fatima Ptacek) Sophia.

Richie reluctantly agrees to look after Sophia for the night, but as the night progresses he realizes that this opportunity for him to actually do something worthwhile in his life. There are other subplots in the film involving Richie owing a debt to a mysterious man and befriending the boyfriend of the dead woman he found in the beginning, but these developments to not add much to enhance the central narrative. Just as she does in the short film, Ptacek steals the show with her sassy, but smart role as the pivotal component that turns Richie’s life around. It’s difficult to say if Before I Disappear generates the same level of heartfelt emotions that the short film it was based from did, however, fans of the source material are likely to at least appreciate this extension.

RATING: 6.8

The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz

Through the abundant use of early home videos, Brian Knappenberger’s documentary The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz shows that Aaron Swartz was somewhat of a prodigy at an early age when he begins to recite the alphabet and read. Going up on computers at a young age, Swartz effortlessly learned how to write programming languages and soon become obsessed with them. Before he finished high school, Swartz built an open-access encyclopedia that allowed others to add and edit entries. This sounds very similar to the idea behind the 5th most visited website on the planet, Wikipedia. Though Swartz wrote his own version years before Wikipedia was even launched. Other impressive technology accolades in his life include helping develop RSS, co-founding Reddit, and launching Creative Commons.

Swartz had always been a programming wunderkind, but alongside his technical abilities was his enthusiastic philosophy that information should be accessible by the public. He eventually became a political hacktivist and wrote a script that would automatically download all of the academic journal articles from JSTOR that MIT had access to. The FBI took notice and later outrageously charged him with 13 counts of felony and a fine of up to $1 million.

It was nice to see the documentary not dwelling on the actual details of Swartz’s suicide and instead keeping the focus on the impact of death on everyone around him. Occasionally the film meanders on some of the topics it brings up, specifically when it went into more detail surrounding the SOPA bill than it needed.

It’s absolutely heartbreaking that a man who believed information should be free would be bullied by the government just to be made an example of, ultimately leading him to take his own life. Through Aaron Swartz’s tragic but inspiring story, The Internet’s Own Boy delivers the important message of just how critical access to knowledge is, and that by limiting our access, it limits our ability to learn, evolve, and create. And that’s a message worth listening to.

RATING: 7.7