Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death & Technology

Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death, & Technology is an autobiographical documentary film directed by Tiffany Shlain, dedicated to her father.[1] The film unfolds during a year in which technology and science literally become a matter of life and death for the director. As Tiffany's father Dr. Leonard Shlain, MD battles brain cancer and she confronts a high-risk pregnancy, her very understanding of connection is challenged. Using a mix of animation, archival footage, and home movies, Shlain attempts to reveal the ties that link us not only to the people we love but also to the world at large. Connected explores how, after centuries of declaring our independence, it may be time for us to declare our interdependence instead.[2]

The production of the film took four years, and it is Shlain's eighth film. Leonard Shlain died in 2009 and did not see the finished film.[3]

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011,[4] and opened theatrically in 11 cities including San Francisco,[5] Marin, Berkeley, Monterey, Seattle, Denver, Portland,[6] LA[7] and New York[8] in the fall of 2011 in an exclusive release theatrical tour. In 2012 Connected was selected by the U.S. State Department to tour with The American Film Showcase to represent America.[9] With the American Film Showcase, the film was sent to embassies around the world[10] and Director Tiffany Shlain traveled to South Africa[11] and Israel to screen the film and teach filmmaking workshops. In Tiffany Shlain's AOL Original series, The Future Starts Here there is an episode in Season 2 called Punk Rock Diplomacy that takes you behind the scenes on her tour with the American Film Showcase.[12] Connected aired on KQED in 2013 and is now available[promotion? ] on DVD and digital platforms including iTunes,[13] Netflix[14] and more.[15]

Critical reception has been mixed. The film received 36% positive reviews on the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.[16]