Pirate doc sets sail at fest, Web
BERLIN — It would hardly be fitting if a documentary about the Swedish file-sharing system the Pirate Bay weren’t available online, and for free. So as “TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard” premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, it also became available around the world with the click of a mouse.
Director Simon Klose arranged for a simultaneous YouTube launch for his 85-minute film about the Pirate Bay, which has enabled the global distribution of music, movies and other (often-copyrighted) material — and spurred legal battles in the process. Covered by a Creative Commons license, this film is also available for download, of course, on the Pirate Bay.
The film focuses on the three co-founders of what’s become the world’s largest peer-to-peer file-sharing network. Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg and Peter Sunde were hit with a lawsuit in 2008, with big names such as Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and MGM calling for millions in damages. (The three were found guilty of facilitating illegal downloading of copyrighted material and sentenced to prison).
The film starts with their trial in 2009 and the appeals and chaos that followed (including judges with suspicious connections, two of them fleeing to Asia). With its dark tones and sinister electronic soundtrack, the film calls to mind suspense Scandinavian style — and perhaps Stockholm hacker Lisbeth Salander of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”
The film’s name comes from the group’s expression of choice for the term IRL, meaning “in real life.” (The prosecutor asks the defendants, “When did you meet in IRL?” In reply, Sunde tells the court in Stockholm: “We say AFK — away from keyboard. We think that the Internet is real.” )
All their programming and posturing does end with a real-life price of its own — the men were sentenced to short jail sentences and a fine of $6.6 million, but so far none of them has served time or paid any money (although Warg is currently in prison for hacking charges in another case).
Popular at the festival, “TPB AFK” has found its true home online. At the time of this writing, the film’s website boasted 2,720 paid downloads (at $10 each), 919,000 YouTube views and 23,500 users seeding the torrent that allows the free download from the Pirate Bay.
“TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away from Keyboard” will have its U.S. premiere at South by Southwest in March.