Simon Klose, Swedish filmmaker, is a rare breed. He wants his film pirated.
Simon Klose is a filmmaker from Sweden who is currently in production with a documentary which details and delves into the piracy movement. The film's epicenter is the trial of the Pirate Bay torrent tracker which both tracks and indexes BitTorrent files.
The Pirate Bay Trial, which came to a close on March 3, 2009, captured the attention of many, and stirred emotion not just within Sweden but internationally as well. Klose hopes that individuals will pirate his film, as the more it’s shared, the more publicity he receives.
Klose says he realises piracy is a polarising issue, with furious opinions on both sides of the argument. He had no intention to cover the issue in a moralistic way, but rather he hopes simply to document the entire process of piracy. So far, he has shot almost seventy hours of film which surveys all aspects of piracy, and the movement itself, according to Wired.com.
"I think it's important to shoot constantly,” 34-year-old Simon Klose said to
Wired.com in an interview. "If you do, the people you're filming eventually start ignoring you and show you who they really are. My goal is to portray the people behind the media circus."
Klose is not new to the film industry, and has made a few documentaries and music videos.
Sweet Memories Garden Centre, is a film about two brothers who trade criminal lives for flower shop ownership in Soweto, South Africa. This film has been televised in Sweden.
Photo by: Andrew Tonn, PhotojournalistKlose acknowledged his pro-piracy stance on this movie wouldn't necessarily see him making much money back. "I don't mind. This process involves me too, and my struggle to survive as a filmmaker." His stance is quite different than the majority of filmmakers and those who solely seek profit, and he asserts that “the industry has to find new business models."
Sales and marketing are getting tougher and tougher in the music and film industry due to piracy, and the ease of obtaining content illegally. Klose feels that his documentary is the response to the changes which have occurred in the industries and the way content is sold, distributed and marketed. His opinion is that is possible for multiple business models to coexist and feed off one another. It’s his opinion that money can be made even in instances where a product is offered for free.
"I believe in spreading free culture, but I will also try to get the film financed traditionally," Klose told Wired.
Peter Sunde, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Fredrik Neij, and Carl Lundström, The Pirate Bay founders are often described as either good, or evil, heroes or Nazis.
On April 17, the three founders of The Pirate Bay are expected to receive the verdict they currently await. Each individual could potentially wind up in prison for up to two years, and be liable for up to $180,000 in fines for the alleged contribution to copyright infringement for the maintenance and hosting of a 22 million user site which promotes and aids piracy.
Kloe does not believe his documentary will be completed anytime soon, as even though a verdict is due mid April, if the defendants are not fully acquitted the trial will continue longer, as an appeal would be likely launching the case into the highest Swedish court. "I will follow the whole process to the end, before I start editing the film," close assured Wired.com. "This is a process of historical magnitude."