''Web Junkie'' is a 2013 American-Israeli
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
co-written, directed and produced by Hilla Medalia and Shosh Shlam. The film premiered at the 2013 Jerusalem Film Festival on July 10, 2013.
The film also premiered in-competition in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at
2014 Sundance Film Festival
The 2014 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 16, 2014 until January 26, 2014 in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance Resort in Utah. The festival opened with ''Whiplash'' directed by Da ...
on January 19, 2014.
After its premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
,
Dogwoof Pictures
Dogwoof is a film-distribution company based in the United Kingdom.
History Dogwoof Pictures
Dogwoof was founded in 2003 by Andy Whittaker, and originally concentrated on foreign films, including such titles as ''Don't Move'', '' Fateless'', ' ...
acquired the worldwide distribution rights of the film. The film will be broadcast in the UK at
BBC Storyville
''Storyville'' is a documentary strand presented by the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the ...
, who has acquired the British TV rights of the film.
Synopsis
The film focuses on the Chinese government's classification of internet addiction as a clinical disorder and focuses on the treatment used in Chinese rehabilitation centres.
Reception
''Web Junkie'' received mostly positive reviews upon its premiere at the
2014 Sundance Film Festival
The 2014 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 16, 2014 until January 26, 2014 in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance Resort in Utah. The festival opened with ''Whiplash'' directed by Da ...
. Review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gives the film a 67% rating based on reviews from 6 critics, with an average score of 6.1/10.
Dennis Harvey of ''
Variety
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* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', wrote in his review that "A bizarre and entertaining documentary about China's attempts to reprogram its Internet-addicted youth." Duane Byrge in his review for ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' called the film "A startling look at China’s Internet addiction centers." Drew Taylor from ''
Indiewire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
'' praised the film by writing that "The specificity of the documentary...is one of its biggest strengths since it is able to place you right alongside these kids...But it also has the effect of being even more heartbreaking." Dan Fienberg of ''
HitFix
HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...
'' gave the film grade B and wrote that "Web Junkie is a little sad, a little funny and a little scary. I'd say that I wish it had been a little more provocative, but I'm sure conversations after screenings will serve some of that purpose and those are conversations worth having." In her review for ''
The Telegraph
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Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'', Amber Wilkinson praised the directors of the film that "Directors Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia get a remarkable amount of access to one of 400 rehabilitation camps set up in China." However Dan Schindel of ''Movie Mezzanine'' criticized the film, writing that "What really undoes the film is its formlessness."
Accolades
See also
List of TV and films with critiques of Chinese Communist Party
References
External links
Official website*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Web Junkie
2013 films
2013 documentary films
American documentary films
Israeli documentary films
Documentary films about the Internet
Documentary films about China
Internet in China
2010s English-language films
2010s American films