Ben is working on a project with Eyestorm as a guest curator, finding work that he has always admired from artists whom he believed will last the distance.

The first selection made is Adam Chodzko, a 47 year old British Artist. Speaking about Chodzko, Ben states, “he has produced scores of powerful and timeless works that draw in performance, photography, conceptualism and the viewers.”

For information on how to purchase your own Chodzko prints visit the Eyestorm website. To see more of what Ben has to say on the work of Chodzko visit this short biography section.

Sheffield’s Doc/Fest is a international documentary festival that not only offers screenings on a wide range of documentary films but also offers opportunities to filmmakers for pitching sessions, meet markets and a large number of parties!  It runs for five days in the heart of Sheffield allowing anyone to come and watch films or even to purchase a pass for the entire festival!

This year Doc/Fest is from the 12th June until the 16th. Google and the World Brain is screening at this years festival and Ben will have a Q & A session to take part in as well.

13 Jun 14.30 – Howard Street Screen

15 Jun 12.30 – Showroom 1 – followed by Q&A.

If you’re going to be around it’s definitely a festival to check out!

The Daily Spanish newspaper, La Razón which literally translates as ‘the reason’, has reviewed Google and the World Brain after it’s appearance in the Documenta Madrid Festival.

In the article, which quotes Ben a number of times, the author states that the story takes place  whilst being ‘presented in a documentary that appeals to the viewer to take sides’, finalising her statement with a quotation from Ben: “We can act to ensure that all information and knowledge that offers Internet is to our service or to become passive consumers and wait for such information control us.”

To read the full article, in Spanish, visit La Razón’s website.

“My selection criteria were simple. Art should engage the eye and mind quickly.”

Ben has been chosen as a guest curator for Eyestorm, leading online retailer and publisher of limited edition contemporary art. This opportunity means that Ben gets to curate an ongoing series of prints by artists of his choice, artists who he thinks will “last the distance”.

The artists chosen by Ben were Adam Chodzko, Doug Fishbone and Lia Anna Hennig. Their prints, selected by Ben, will be launched this week.

To read what Ben has to say about this opportunity and how he made his selection visit his article on the Eyestorm website.

 “I picked artists whose work was brightly engaging, clever, witty and rigorous.”

Google and the World Brain and Poor Us- An Animated History of Poverty will both be screening at this year’s Docville International Film Festival.

According to the festival director, this is the first time in living memory where a director has had more than one film feature within the festival at one time! 

What a fantastic honor this is for Ben Lewis TV and a fantastic way to celebrate all of the hard work that went into making these two features throughout 2012.

Visit the Docville website for more information about the festival.

Poor Us – An Animated History of Poverty will feature within the Knowing and Conscience category. The films in this category focus on compelling stories, adding the personal touch rather than fast, on-the-fence reporting. It is also the Belgium premiere of this film and will be screened on Sunday 5th May and Wednesday 8th May. Book your tickets now!

Sunday 5th May 2013 - 17:30

Wednesday 8th May 2013 - 19:30

Google and the World Brain is featured in the SHIFT-CTRL category, which focuses on films that reveal and highlight information regarding the modern day’s internet reliance. Google and the World Brain will be screened on Saturday 4th May and Saturday 11th May. Book your tickets now!

Saturday 4th May 2013 – 22:00

Saturday 11th May 2013 – 18:00

On Wednesday 27th March Ben was interviewed by four animation film students from the Media Art Design Faculty in Genk, Belgium.

During the interview he was asked questions relating to his films Poor Us – An Animated History of Poverty and Hammer and Tickle, as well as briefly talking about some of Ben’s other films (Blowing Up Paradise, The Great Contemporary Art Bubble…) Some of the questions he was asked where:

What motivated you to start making documentary films?

Hammer and Tickle – Could we say that this documentary was purely a passion project, spawn from your love for communism? 

His interview was conducted via Skype and can be watched below.

Interview with Documentary filmmaker Ben Lewis from Seeing Sound on Vimeo.

The screening at the festival adds to Google and the World Brains numerous screenings that have been taking place around the globe.

This is an up to date list of screenings that have, and are yet to take place, of Google and the World Brain:

• Documenta Madrid, International competition, Spain, 5-12 May 2013
• DOXA Documentary Film Festival, Gala screening “Spotlight on the Future”, Vancouver, Canada, 3-12 May 2013
• 56th San Francisco International Film Festival, USA, 25 April – 09 May 2013
• RiverRun IFF, Documentary Features Competition, USA, 12-21 April 2013
• 37th Cleveland FF, Standing Up Competition, USA, 3-14 April 2013
• SVT, Sweden, 12 April 2013
• Arte France, 2 April 2013
• ZDF/ARTE Germany, 2 April 2013, 20:15h
• VPRO, The Netherlands 13 March 2013
• BBC4, Storyville, UK, 18 February 2013, 22:00h also on BBC iplayer
• Sundance, World Documentary Competition, Utah, USA. 17-29 January 2013

There are going to be three screenings of Google and the World Brain at the RiverRun International Film Festival this April.

RiverRun is a regional event based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA. The 2013 Festival will feature 143 films, including 66 features and 77 shorts from 35 different countries. This is the 15th annual RiverRun, staring tomorrow -12th April and finishing 21st april.

If you are in the area then check out Google and the World Brain:

Director Ben Lewis investigates the most ambitious project ever conceived on the Internet: Google’s master plan to scan every book in the world and the people trying to stop them. Google says they are building a library for mankind, but some say they also have other intentions.

Thursday April 18th  - 17:30 Buy Tickets $10
Friday April 19th        - 14:30 Buy Tickets $5
Saturday April 20th   – 16:00 Buy Tickets $10

Visit the website for more information RiverRun.

Google and the World Brain was screened on Arte in France and Germany last week. It received a great review in the Frankfurter Allgemeine.

Ein aktueller Film, der das Unternehmen Google darstellt und alle inhaltlichen Erklärungen an der Dramatik rund um „Google Books“ festmacht, ist wie ein Film über Ford, der es bei der Erfindung des Fließbands belässt: eigentlich nur historisch interessant. Aber was schon für die Automobile gilt – dass nämlich in der initialen Idee fast alles steckt, was sie bis heute ausmacht -, trifft auch auf Google zu. Der Film „Google und die Macht des Wissens“ von Ben Lewis wendet sich dem Internetgiganten zu, ohne sich von ihm überrumpeln zu lassen, und beschreibt beeindruckend anhand eines einzigen Problems, was mit der Welt, in der wir leben, nicht mehr stimmt.

Read the full article here.

Indiewire spoke with the directors heading off to Sundance in January to ask them about their films, inspirations, challenges and future ventures.

Ben’s interview was published on the site in January 11th 2013.

London-based documentarian Ben Lewis is heading to the Sundance Film Festival for the first time with his film “Google and the World Brain,” after making films about poverty, Nicolae Ceausescu, and Baader-Meinhof.

What it’s about:  “Google and the World Brain” tracks the Internet conglomerate’s controversial project to upload the world’s written content to its servers.

What the film’s really about: “This film is about what happens when the world’s most austere and fusty of institutions – the library – comes into contact with the world’s most advanced technology – the Internet. It’s about what happens when the oldest technology in the world for disseminating information – the library and the book – comes into contact with the newest, the Internet and the scanner. Above all it is about what happens when you set out to provide people with information for free, without rewarding the information-originators. It is about what might be going wrong with the Internet and how the more freedom you seem to be getting, the more monopolistic the powers that are being built behind the interface.”

…

To view the entire article and see the rest of Ben’s answers click here.