EXCLUSIVE: Moviegoers who catch Alex Winter’s new documentary The YouTube Effect can expect a cinematic bonus: We can reveal the film is preceded by a short documentary for the National Courtwatch Network narrated by Fiona Apple, with original music by the singer-songwriter.
The four-and-a-half minute long short, which also features narration from actor Jesse Williams and Dr. Carmen Johnson of Courtwatch PG, examines a growing movement to bring accountability to the judicial system by training court watchers to observe judicial proceedings “and report their findings to the public.”
The movement picked up steam during the pandemic when many court proceedings were made available online, allowing Courtwatch volunteers around the country to monitor arraignments, bond hearings and other judicial matters that might otherwise go unwitnessed by members of the public.
“This principle of courts open to the public was inscribed in the Constitution by the nation’s founders who themselves suffered injustice behind closed doors during British rule,” the narration notes. The court watch movement “seeks to train a legion of volunteers to attend hearings and to learn the language and process of court so that they can take notes, amplify the injustices they witness and hold power accountable.”
Fiona Apple
Gary Miller/Getty Images
Apple herself has become an active court watcher.
“Court watching is really the gateway to a better community, a better world, because it will make you care,” Apple told Pitchfork.com in a February interview. “It makes you care about people you don’t know. And we need more of that.”
Winter, The YouTube Effect director, told Deadline in an exclusive statement, “The lack of equal justice in courts is a systemic problem in this country. The Court Watchers is an important short film that chronicles Fiona Apple and other regular citizens who have found a way to fight injustice in the courts. I’m proud to be able to show the film in front of our documentary and to give this urgent, little-known avenue for activism more exposure.”
The YouTube Effect producer Gale Anne Hurd commented, “It’s absolutely essential that concerned citizens be aware of what they can do to keep our justice system accountable. This powerful short film highlights the importance of Court Watchers.”
Drafthouse Films
Drafthouse Films is releasing The YouTube Effect in Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas today, with a nationwide expansion happening next Friday. Locations showing the film include Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., Austin, Chicago and San Francisco.
The feature documentary from Winter (Bill & Ted Franchise, Showbiz Kids, The Panama Papers, Zappa), “explores the ascension and acceleration of YouTube, a video-sharing website that started with humble origins and has gone on to change how we experience the world,” according to a release. “With exclusive access to some of YouTube’s biggest stars, the film presents an eye-opening and troubling look at the platform now so powerfully embedded in our lives.”
The YouTube Effect premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Festival and went on to screen at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen, the Montclair Film Festival, and Philadelphia International Film Festival, among others.
Alex Winter attends ‘The YouTube Effect’ premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Festival.
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
“The Internet is fundamentally surreal. And if in doubt, just take a look at YouTube, the greatest media platform and magic mirror in the history of the world. In a provocative and wildly entertaining high-speed essay, tech documentarist Alex Winter takes a hard look not just at YouTube, but at how the internet has changed the way we live and think since the video platform launched,” CPH:DOX programmers noted. “…Winter’s film… takes an intelligent deep dive down a rabbit hole of K-pop, Justin Bieber, revolutions in the Middle East, radicalization, cat videos and organized misinformation. It’s a wild ride.”
Producers of The YouTube Effect include Winter (Trouper Productions), Gale Anne Hurd (Valhalla Entertainment, Mankiller, The Terminator Trilogy and The Walking Dead), and Glen Zipper (Zipper Bros. Films, Undefeated, Challenger: Final Flight, What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali, Zappa). Executive Producers include Michael Cho, Mimi Rode and Tim Lee of Olive Hill Media, Michael Y. Chow and Sue Turley of XRM Media, Kevin Lin of Metatheory and Ian Orefice, Rebecca Teitel and Mike Beck for TIME Studios.
The Court Watchers short, meanwhile, features storyboarding and animation by Fluorfilms, illustration by Sebastián Franchini, and sound design and mixing by Flavorlab. It is produced by MediaTank Productions, Variant Strategies, and Zealo.us.