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Looking for a visionary and poetic film with something relevant to say about the ongoing personal tech revolution? Brilliant vintage film clips, many from experimental films, show how our desire for 'connectivity' reached critical mass. With brilliant editing, evocative music and a stirring narration read by Tilda Swinton. And it even has a sense of humor... Dreams Rewired DVD Icarus Films Home Video 2015 / B&W (and a little color) / 1:78 enhanced widescreen (variable, actually) / 85 min. / Street Date March 22, 2016 / available through Icarus Films / 29.98 Narrated by Tilda Swinton Animation Hanna Nordholt, Fritz Steingrobe Film Editor Oliver Neumann Original Music Siegfried Friedrich Written by Manu Luksch, Martin Reinhart, Thomas Tode, Muku Patel Produced by Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, Bady Minck Directed by Manu Luksch, Martin Reinhart, Thomas Tode

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

In writing about science fiction I've seen the technological advances of the 20th century organized into fantasies about militarism, the invasion of privacy,...

Directed by Manu Luksch, Martin Reinhart, and Thomas Tode, the acclaimed film essay "Dreams Rewired" — with playful, inimitable narration from Tilda Swinton — pieces together technological and futuristic images from the scientific, dramatic, educational, erotic, experimental, and political films of yore to create the sensation of time travel. As Swinton describes our historical moment, "Dreams Rewired" draws connections to prior ones, by reference to filmmakers from Thomas Edison to Dziga Vertov: the origins of cinema, the telephone, and the computer, for instance, each in its own time an unimaginable leap forward. The result is a scintillating marriage of form and function, in which Luksch, Reinhart, and Tode offer a reminder that the modern world's anxieties are nothing new — and no less dangerous for having precedents. (After all, the footage is drawn primarily from films produced between 1880 and 1930, a period of immense technological change...

Directed by Manu Luksch, Martin Reinhart and Thomas Tode, Dreams Rewired is a fascinating historical reflection of our obsession with connectivity. Appropriating old world technology to draw the parallels to our own, the post-nsa era society where files can be stored in the ether and anyone can have access from anywhere, any time. The film digs deeper into history of mass media- early films, phonograph, radio and early television- culling from more than 200 archival silent movie clips and retro style animation, the Austrian experimental filmmakers examine not only development of technology but also human desire to connect with one another and to relentlessly innovate. The film also puts a mirror on 21st century society as it asks serious questions about our blind dependency on...

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Directors Martin Reinhart, Thomas Tode and Manu Luksch rewind a century of footage, revealing our mania for technology is nothing new

Every generation thinks that it is the one who – wait, hold that thought, I’m getting a text. Where were we? Yes, technology. It changes the way we work and play and interact, but does it change the way we think? The way we perceive reality? The way we dream?

Dreams Rewired is a marvellous essay film by Austrian and German directors Martin Reinhart, Thomas Tode and Manu Luksch that rewinds a hundred plus years to show, among other things, how our current communications mania isn’t so new. First with the telephone, then early cinema, the magic of wireless radio and, finally, television, Dreams Rewired bombards the senses with a thorough and clever montage of found footage from the 1890s to the pre-war era.

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When it comes to international film festivals, there are sprinters and there are distance runners. Spanning 25 days across May and June, Seattle International Film Festival is the Pheidippides of American fests. Unlike its splashier cousins, Sundance and SXSW, Siff doesn’t pander to big movie stars or flashy hipsters. Staying true to its Northwest sensibilities, Siff quietly grinds out one terrific program after another. The 41st edition boasts a whopping 193 feature films, 164 short films, and 70 documentaries, many of which are either World or North American premieres. It’s enough to make even the most ambitious cinephile curl up in a corner with his festival guide and cry. Here, then, is a brief preview of some hotly anticipated films, as well as some obscure titles that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Familiar Faces

Strategically positioned in the middle of the calendar year, Siff has the advantage of playing favorites. More specifically, they...

Organisers at the Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) announced the complete line-up of 450 films from 92 countries on Wednesday. The festival runs from May 14-June 7.

The Overnight starring Jason Schwartzman will close the event and as previously announced Spy (pictured) with Melissa McCartney will kick off proceedings. Kevin Bacon will receive career achievement in acting award.

“This year’s festival is bigger and more international than ever, with a record 92 countries represented,” said Siff artistic director Carl Spence. “Adding to our diverse international line-up is our new programme, Culinary Cinema, which features 11 fantastic new films.

“And I’m particularly excited to welcome Kevin Bacon as this year’s Tribute Guest – Siff will now be only one-degree of separation away!”

Galas and premieres include Max Landis’ directorial debut Me Him Her, Chris Evans in Before We Go, Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segal in the Centerpiece Gala End Of The Tour . Inside Out, Mr. Holmes and [link...