SYNTHETIC PLEASURES (1995)
85 min
US
Engish Language without Subtitles
Director: Iara Lee
Producer: George Gund
Cinematography: Toshifumi Furusawa, Marcus Hahn, Kramer Morgenthau
Music: Cem Oral
Conceived as an electronic road movie, this documentary investigates cutting edge technologies and their influence on our culture as we approach the 21st century. It takes off from the idea that mankind's effort to tap the power of Nature has been so successful that a new world is suddenly emerging,an artificial reality. Virtual Reality, digital and biotechnology, plastic surgery and mood-altering drugs promise seemingly unlimited powers to our bodies, and our selves. This film presents the implications of having access to such power as we all scramble to inhabit our latest science fictions.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:
Iara Lee, a Brazilian of Korean descent, is an activist, filmmaker, and founder/director of the Cultures of Resistance Network, an organization that promotes global solidarity and connects and supports agitators, educators, farmers, and artists to build a more just and peaceful world through creative resistance and nonviolent action! Iara is a long-time supporter of Greenpeace, Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International, and many organizations around the world through the Cultures of Resistance Network.
As a filmmaker, Iara has directed/produced several full-length documentaries and dozens of short films over the past decade for example: K2 and the Invisible Footmen (2015), Wantoks: Dance of Resilience in Melanesia (2019), Life Is Waiting (2015).