Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival 2011

'Connected' offers an exhilarating stream-of-consciousness ride through the interconnectedness of humankind, nature, progress and morality at the dawn of the 21st century. With insight, curiosity, and humor, the film weaves both a personal and global story about interdependence. For centuries we've been declaring independence, this film asks if perhaps it's time to declare our interdependence instead. With wonderful heart and an impressive sense of scale, Tiffany Shlain's vibrant and insightful documentary, 'Connected', explores the visible and invisible connections linking major issues of our time--the environment, consumption, population growth, technology, human rights, the global economy--while searching for her place in the world during a transformative time in her life.

Employing a splendidly imaginative combination of animation and archival footage, plus several surprises, Shlain constructs a chronological tour of Western modernization through the work of her late father, Leonard Shlain, a surgeon and best-selling author of Art and Physics and The Alphabet Versus the Goddess. With humor, curiosity and irony, the Shlain family life merges with philosophy to create both a personal portrait and a proposal for ways we can move forward as a civilization. An exhilarating rollercoaster ride, the film proposes that after centuries of declaring independence, it may be time for us to declare our interdependence instead

Introduction by Diana Barrett, President and Founder of The Fledgling Fund