24 Hours on Craigslist
Encyclopedia
24 Hours on Craigslist is a 2005 American feature-length documentary
that captures the people and stories behind a single day's posts on the community-focused, classified website Craigslist
. The film, made with the approval of Craigslist's founder Craig Newmark
, is woven from interviews with the site's users, all of whom opted in to be contacted by the production when they submitted their posts on August 4, 2003. The documentary screened in nine film festivals during 2004 and 2005, winning a 'best feature documentary', and played in a limited, self-distributed, theatrical release in 2005 and 2006. The film was released on DVD on April 25, 2006.
, he contacted Craig Newmark about the idea. Two days later Michael met with Jim Buckmaster
, Craigslist's CEO, and Craig Newmark to discuss the film concept: creating a documentary entirely 'from' Craigslist; crew, cast, and music would all be sourced from the site.
Craig literally picked the chosen day out of a hat from which to generate the user posts that were used in the film. The production filmed the individuals and followed their stories and interactions with other users over the next three months.
, Canada
, in April 2005 by HotDocs for its monthly screening series Doc Soup.
2004
2005
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
that captures the people and stories behind a single day's posts on the community-focused, classified website Craigslist
Craigslist
Craigslist is a centralized network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements, with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums....
. The film, made with the approval of Craigslist's founder Craig Newmark
Craig Newmark
Craig Alexander Newmark is an Internet entrepreneur best known for being the founder of the San Francisco-based international website Craigslist.-Biography:...
, is woven from interviews with the site's users, all of whom opted in to be contacted by the production when they submitted their posts on August 4, 2003. The documentary screened in nine film festivals during 2004 and 2005, winning a 'best feature documentary', and played in a limited, self-distributed, theatrical release in 2005 and 2006. The film was released on DVD on April 25, 2006.
Plot
24 Hours on Craigslist tells the story of the people posting to and reading Craiglist over the course of August 4, 2003.Production
Michael Ferris Gibson, an independent filmmaker, was inspired one night in early 2003 to surf every category of Craigslist's San Francisco. Three hours later he had the inspiration for 24 Hours on Craigslist. After spending five more hours drafting a treatmentFilm treatment
A film treatment is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed than an outline , and it may include details of directorial style that an outline omits...
, he contacted Craig Newmark about the idea. Two days later Michael met with Jim Buckmaster
Jim Buckmaster
Jim Buckmaster , a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, is an American computer programmer who has been the CEO of Craigslist since 2000....
, Craigslist's CEO, and Craig Newmark to discuss the film concept: creating a documentary entirely 'from' Craigslist; crew, cast, and music would all be sourced from the site.
Craig literally picked the chosen day out of a hat from which to generate the user posts that were used in the film. The production filmed the individuals and followed their stories and interactions with other users over the next three months.
Film festivals
Several different versions of 24 Hours on Craigslist screened in nine different film festivals around the world. In addition, the film was selected to screen in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, in April 2005 by HotDocs for its monthly screening series Doc Soup.
2004
- South by SouthwestSouth by SouthwestSouth by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
- International Documentary Film Festival – Amsterdam
2005
- San Francisco Independent Film Festival
- Against Gravity Film Festival (Poland)
- Newport Beach Film Festival
- Idaho Film Festival
- Vail Film FestivalVail Film FestivalThe Vail Film Festival is a four-day film festival that has taken place annually in late March or early April in Vail, Colorado since 2004. The 2011 Vail film festival took place March 31 - April 3 in Vail, Colorado...
- DeadCENTER Film FestivalDeadCENTER Film FestivalThe deadCENTER Film Festival was founded in 2001 in Oklahoma City. The festival was named "deadCENTER" because it is located in the exact center of the United States...
- Toofy Film Festival (Winner Best Feature Documentary)
Awards
- Best Documentary Feature - Toofy Film Fest 2005
- Best Local Film - East Bay Express Readers' Choice Awards 2006
Commercial distribution
The director and producer of the film distributed 24 Hours on Craigslist theatrically in the United States and Canada under the distribution label of Zealot Pictures. Heretic Films released the film on DVD on April 25, 2006.External links
- Official website
- Craigslist
- Interview With Michael Ferris Gibson in Gelf magazine