Freedom Downtime (2001)

A feature length documentary about the Free Kevin movement and the hacker world.

Director:

Emmanuel Goldstein

Stars:

Mark Abene, Ed Cummings, Robert Darlington

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Mark Abene	...	Himself (as Phiber Optik)
Ed Cummings	...	Himself (as Bernie S.)
Robert Darlington	...	Professor
Emmanuel Goldstein	...	Himself
Sean Gullette	...	Himself
Lazlow Jones	...	Himself
Alexis Kasperavicius	...	Himself (as Alex Kasper)
John Markoff	...	Himself
Kevin Mitnick	...	Himself
Tsutomu Shimomura	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jeffrey Stanton	...	Himself (as Cellularguy)
Bruce Sterling	...	Himself
Deth Veggie	...	Himself

Storyline

Computer hackers are being portrayed as the newest brand of terrorists. This is a story of a hacker named Kevin Mitnick, imprisoned without bail for nearly five years. Freedom Downtime tries to uncover the reasons why the authorities are so scared of Mitnick as well as define what exactly he did. Surprisingly, no real evidence is ever presented by the authorities to back up the sensationalist claims in mass media. But when a Hollywood studio decides to make a movie about Mitnick's life through the eyes of one of his accusers, hackers turn to activism to get their message out. Through interviews with relatives, friends, lawyers, and experts in the computer and civil liberties arena, a picture of a great injustice becomes apparent. A cross-country journey uncovers some realities of the hacker culture as well as the sobering fact that so many technically young adept people are being imprisoned.

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Plot Keywords:

freedom | prisoner | two word title | technology | computer | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Adventure

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

2600 Productions [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German Italian Spanish

Release Date:

22 September 2001 (USA)

Filming Locations:

30th Street Station - 3001 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

2600 Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

All throughout filming, Emmanuel Goldstein and the crew continued the weekly radio show "Off The Hook"...calling in to the radio station from a payphone wherever they happened to be that week.

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Quotes

XaiL: Sure, I may have hacked NASA. But I mean... Who hasn't?

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Connections

References Takedown (2000)

User Reviews

Great Documentary About Kevin Mitnick and the Hacker World

I was fortunate enough to see this film at its first screening at HOPE2000 in New York City. The first release was not the final and it had some minor problems. I watched the finished version at the NY Film and Video Festival at the Sutton Theatre. There were many interesting changes, mostly for the better.

The movie is about the life of "SUPER HACKER" Kevin Mitnick. It explains why his case was flawed and the propaganda the media released about the trials. The narrator, Emmanuel Goldstein, goes on an adventure with some of his friends from NYC to various places relating to Kevin or the Hacker world.

There are scenes thrown in just for fun and also very serious messages about the government's misuse of power. An X-Con, Bernie S, explains his chilling experience in jail and how it nearly cost him his life. All of this over a box of crystals that could be used to steal telephone service.

The movie is funny and educational. It should appeal to all members of the hacking community and those who wish to become informed.

The film doesn't end at the credits.