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The Cleaners

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Enter a hidden third world shadow industry of digital cleaning, where the Internet rids itself of what it doesn’t like: violence, pornography and political content. Here we meet five “digital scavengers” among thousands of people outsourced from Silicon Valley whose job is to delete “inappropriate” content off of the net. In a parallel struggle, we meet people around the globe whose lives are dramatically affected by online censorship. A typical “cleaner” must observe and rate thousands of often deeply disturbing images and videos every day, leading to lasting psychological impacts.


Press

  • VIDEO LIBRARIAN
    "The questions are whether powerful companies should be permitted to outsource their responsibility to police material that can incite ethnic violence against minorities or pervert democratic processes, and if broader governmental intervention is called for"
    Frank Swietek
  • The Verge
    "The Cleaners is a riveting documentary about how social media might be ruining the world"
    Brian Bishop
  • The Hollywood Reporter
    "Stylish doc exposes must-discuss issues regarding the companies who dominate the internet"
    John DeFore
  • Variety
    "This thorough, yet conflicted globe-trotting documentary thriller meets the social media censors struggling to save the web"
    Amy Nicholson
  • The Cleaners - IMDB page
    "When you post something on the web, can you be sure it stays there? Enter a hidden shadow industry of digital cleaning where the Internet rids itself of what it doesn't like - violence, pornography and - political content. Who is controlling what we see and what we think?
    Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion

Festival Participation

  • German Television Awards - 2019
    Nominee German Television Award Best Documentary (Beste Dokumentation)
  • Jerusalem Film Festival - 2018
    Nominee In Spirit for Freedom Award Best Documentary
  • Moscow International Film Festival - 2018
    Winner Silver St. George Best Film of the Documentary Competition
  • News & Documentary Emmy Awards - 2019
    Nominee Emmy Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary
  • Sundance Film Festival - 2018
    Nominee Grand Jury Prize World Cinema - Documentary
  • Prix Europa - 2018
    Winner Prix Europa Documentary of the Year
  • Cinema for Peace Awards - 2019
    Nominee Cinema for Peace Award for the Most Valuable Documentary of the Year
  • Reykjavik International Film Festival - 2018
    Nominee A Different Tomorrow Best Documentary
  • DocsBarcelona, ES - 2018
    Nominee DocsBarcelona TV3 Award Best Documentary
  • Docudays UA International Documentary Human Rights Film Festival - 2019
    Winner RIGHTS NOW! Best Film
  • German Directors Award Metropolis - 2018
    Winner Metropolis Best Director Feature Film & Documentary
  • Adelaide Film Festival - 2018
    Nominee International Documentary Award Best Documentary
  • Dokufest International Documentary and Short Film Festival - 2018
    Nominee Human Rights Award
  • Santiago International Film Festival - SANFIC - 2018
    Nominee Grand Jury Prize International Feature Length
  • It's All True - International Documentary Film Festival - 2018
    Winner Honorable Mention International Competition
  • International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights - 2018
    Winner Gilda Vieira de Mello Award Creative Documentaries Competition
  • FreedomFilmFest - 2018
    Winner Justin Louis Award Best Feature Documentary

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