Sandy Smolan

Movies

Click Effect
Director
Free-dive one hundred feet below the ocean’s surface to discover the “click” communication of dolphins and sperm whales. The Click Effect is a live-action VR experience from Annapurna Pictures, Vrse.works, Sandy Smolan, and James Nestor; the first in a series of immersive journalism experiments commissioned by New Frontier at Sundance Institute, published by The New York Times Op-Docs.
The Human Face of Big Data
Writer
With the rapid emergence of digital devices, an unstoppable, invisible force is changing human lives in ways from the microscopic to the gargantuan: Big Data, a word that was barely used a few years ago but now governs the day for many of us from the moment we awaken to the extinguishing of the final late-evening light bulb. This massive gathering and analyzing of data in real time is allowing us to not only address some of humanity biggest challenges but is also helping create a new kind of planetary nervous system. Yet as Edward Snowden and the release of the Prism documents have shown, the accessibility of all these data comes at a steep price. The Human Face of Big Data captures the promise and peril of this extraordinary knowledge revolution.
The Human Face of Big Data
Director
With the rapid emergence of digital devices, an unstoppable, invisible force is changing human lives in ways from the microscopic to the gargantuan: Big Data, a word that was barely used a few years ago but now governs the day for many of us from the moment we awaken to the extinguishing of the final late-evening light bulb. This massive gathering and analyzing of data in real time is allowing us to not only address some of humanity biggest challenges but is also helping create a new kind of planetary nervous system. Yet as Edward Snowden and the release of the Prism documents have shown, the accessibility of all these data comes at a steep price. The Human Face of Big Data captures the promise and peril of this extraordinary knowledge revolution.
Big Data - La révolution des mégadonnées
Director
A Place To Be Loved
Director
Gregory Kingsley, a boy passed off onto social services by his natural mother and abused by his natural father, finds the foster family he is put into to be the type of family he needs and takes his natural mother to court to have her parental rights revoked so that he can be adopted by the Russes. The story is based on the real case of the boy who really did have to take this action to avoid being sent back into an unacceptable situation.
Vietnam War Story: The Last Days
Director
Rachel River
Producer
A divorced mother pursues her career as a radio personality in rural Minnesota.
Rachel River
Director
A divorced mother pursues her career as a radio personality in rural Minnesota.