If you haven’t heard of the Yes Men, chances are you have heard of some of their stunts. The Yes Men are a culture jamming activist-duo raising awareness around social problems caused by corporations. They practice a concept they call identity correction, where they impersonate entities that they dislike. From their offices in Milwaukee, Wis., they create and maintain fake websites similar to ones they intend to spoof, which have successfully led to numerous interviews, conferences and TV talk show invitations.
The Yes Men have won tons of awards and accolades for their films – including the Audience Award at the Berlin Film Festival. Their work has been seen at Sundance, Hot Docs and was the closing film at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. The one thing that they have yet to see via traditional distribution is actual money. That is right, these poor suckers are actually broke. So, what are these prankster filmmakers to do? With the help of VODO and BitTorrent, today they are releasing ‘The Yes Men Fix the World – P2P Edition,’ a special cut of their second feature film. What is more this version includes an exclusive video of the Yes Men impersonating the US Chamber of Commerce. It is so outrageous that the US Chamber of Commerce took the Yes Men to court!
So, the filmmakers are asking viewers if they like the film to donate, so that they can create more mischief in the future. They have created different levels of participation, and for as little as $10 someone can become a card-carrying Yes Lab member and be entered into a drawing to win a prize! Learn more about the different levels of participation here.
This release comes on the heels of Pioneer One, which has seen nearly a million downloads and over $40,000 in donations and sponsorship. We continue to be excited about alternative media models that feed off the strengths of the online world, and we’re optimistic about the future that this will create for the Yes Men.
At this point, it is no secret that BitTorrent is an efficient way to distribute content to the masses. The story that is now beginning to unfold is that leveraging BitTorrent distribution, creators can tap into a powerful online community and reach millions of consumers while earning the money that will allow them to continue with their creative endeavors.
The Yes Men’s film is a good example of a film that never would have seen such broad distribution via the traditional model. The Internet has created a model of empowerment that allows creators to retain full control of their creative works, and now BitTorrent and VODO are helping them build a business model that will work in this digital age.
For those who are using Apps for µTorrent, the Yes Men can be downloaded from within the client via the VODO app. Also, for a limited time starting today, the movie will be available with all fresh downloads of the µTorrent client.
– Simon –
