Brett Gaylor is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

maker living in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. He grew up on

Galiano Island Galiano Island ( Hul'qumi'num: ''Swiikw'') is one of the Southern Gulf Islands located between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the west side of the Strait of Georgia, the island is bordered by Mayne ...

. He was formerly the VP of Mozilla's Webmaker Program. His documentary, ''

Do Not Track Do Not Track (DNT) is a deprecated non-standard HTTP header field designed to allow internet users to opt out of tracking by websites—which includes the collection of data regarding a user's activity across multiple distinct contexts, and the ...

'', explores privacy and the web economy. He was a founding member/director of

EyeSteelFilm EyeSteelFilm is a Montreal-based Canadian cinema production company co-founded by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin, dedicated to socially engaged cinema, bringing social and political change through cinematic expression. Today the studio is run by ...

documentary production company and its head of new media. He was the founder of the Open Source Cinema project and the web producer of Homeless Nation. He served as executive producer of ''Stealing Ur Feelings'', Noah Levenson's interactive film about emotion recognition AI in consumer applications.

Documentaries

He took part, alongside his fellow directors Daniel Cross and

Mila Aung-Thwin Mila Aung-Thwin is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, producer and activist whose films deal with social justice. He had a multi-disciplinary education in arts, journalism, and photography. In 1998, he met his fellow director/producer Daniel Cros ...

(all three of the EyeSteelFilm production company) in a

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

initiative to teach

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

students in a high school in Inukjuak,

Nunavik Nunavik (; ; ) is an area in Canada which comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homelan ...

(

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

) to document their final year in the high school through film. The result was '' Inuuvunga: I Am Inuk, I Am Alive'' a joint 58-minute 2004

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

by 8 students from the

Inukjuak - Innalik School Inukjuak (, ''Inujjuaq'' or ''Inukjuaq'' in Latin script, meaning 'The Giant') is a northern village (Inuit community) located on Hudson Bay at the mouth of the in Nunavik, in the region of northern Quebec, Canada. Its population is 1,821 as ...

. His 2008 film '' RiP!: A Remix Manifesto'' is a documentary about "the changing concept of copyright". ''RiP!: A Remix Manifesto'' is a call to overhaul

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

laws. As the title suggests, this documentary is particularly interested in the "legally grey area" of remixing existing works. His 2015 web documentary ''

,'' explored issues related to

internet privacy Internet privacy involves the right or mandate of personal privacy concerning the storage, re-purposing, provision to third parties, and display of information pertaining to oneself via the Internet. Internet privacy is a subset of data privacy. P ...

. His 2018 short animation OK Google chronicled a year in his son's life via

Google Assistant Google Assistant is a virtual assistant software application developed by Google that is primarily available on home automation and mobile devices. Based on artificial intelligence, Google Assistant can engage in two-way conversations, unlike ...

searches. His 2020 film The Internet of Everything explored the

internet of things Internet of things (IoT) describes devices with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communication networks. The IoT encompasse ...

and was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Documentary Program. His 2021 web documentary Discriminator explored how his

flickr Flickr ( ) is an image hosting service, image and Online video platform, video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was previously a co ...

photos were used in training the megaface database. The documentary featured original research by

Adam Harvey Adam Harvey (born 21 December 1974) is an Australian country music singer. Harvey has sold over half a million records, has been nominated five times for an ARIA Music Award and has won nine golden guitars at the Country Music Awards of Aust ...

. The project was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award. He collaborated with the

Doha Debates Doha Debates produces and distributes debate and interview programs, video reports and interactive content. The franchise's products include debates, interview series, podcasts, the #SolvingIt series, digital video reports, Deep Dive education c ...

to produce the 2024 podcast series ''Necessary Tomorrows''.

Festivals and awards

'' RiP!: A Remix Manifesto'' was shown at the

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Description IDFA is an independent, international meeting place for audiences ...

(IDFA) in November 2008, where it won the Audience Choice Award. In December 2008, it was shown during the Whistler Film Festival, winning the Cadillac People's Choice Award. It won the Audience Special Jury Prize in

Festival du Nouveau Cinéma The Festival du nouveau cinéma or FNC (English: ''Festival of New Cinema'') is an annual independent film festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, featuring independent films from around the world. Over 160,000 people attend each year. One of ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and was a Special Selection at

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

Film Festival (also known as

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

). It also won the audience awards at the

Ann Arbor Film Festival The Ann Arbor Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Established in 1963, it is the fourth-oldest film festival in North America (after the Yorkton Film Festival, 1947; Columbus International Film & Video Festival, 19 ...

and the Encounters Documentary festival in South Africa. In 2009, Gaylor was named the winner of the Don Haig Award from the

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and Jun ...

.Raju Mudhar, "Festival's top prize to Regent Park documentary". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', May 9, 2009. ''

'' presented as an interactive installation in the Storyscapes section of the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

. It was nominated for Best Original Program or Series, Non-Fiction at the

4th Canadian Screen Awards The 4th Canadian Screen Awards was held on March 13, 2016, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2015. Nominations were announced on January 19, 2016. Throughout the week before the main ceremony, aw ...

. ''Do Not Track'' received a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

for the Web category, an

International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Film ...

Award for Best Series, and a

Prix Gémeaux The Prix Gémeaux () or Gémeaux Awards honour achievements in Canadian television and digital media that is broadcast in French. It has been sponsored by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television since 1987. Introduced as a French-language eq ...

for Best Interactive Series. ''OK Google'' received a 2019

Webby Award The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...

.2019 Webby Award Winners
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaylor, Brett Canadian documentary film directors Film directors from British Columbia 1977 births Living people People from the Capital Regional District