There’s been quite a few films related to bitcoin, and here’s another. Freshly announced: EPIX has announced that the original documentary Deep Web: The Untold Story of Bitcoin and Silk Road is expected to make a world premiere on the premium network in 2015.
The film, as the name would suggest, tells the story of websites hidden on the so-called Deep Web. These pages are non-indexed intentionally, and account for 96 percent of the world wide web, as it were. In particular, the film focuses on Silk Road, an illicit marketplace where users can purchase illegal products: narcotics, firearms, and more.
The film makes the connection between this illicit marketplace and the currency most frequently used to purchase these products “off the grid,” so to speak. The film also looks at the arrest of Ross Ulbricht, the man accused of being ‘Dread Pirate Roberts’ — the founder of Silk Road.
The first iteration of Silk Road was taken down by Federal authorities late last year, but subsequent versions of the service have since sprouted on the Deep Web.
[blockquote style=”2″]Deep Web will feature exclusive interviews with the chief architects of both the Silk Road and the new black markets, as well as exclusive interviews with Lyn Ulbricht, Ross Ubricht’s mother, in her first film interview on her son’s arrest, and Joshua Dratel, Ubricht ’s defense attorney. Other interviewees include Gavin Andresen, chief scientist at the Bitcoin Foundation, and Andrew Lewman, the Executive Director of Tor, a suite of tools that allows users to access content on the Internet anonymously.[/blockquote]
EPIX views will be able to watch the premiere on television, on-demand, on the web, and on the slew of devices that are capable of accessing EPIX’s services.
“Deep Web is a provocative, illuminating look into an online world that is hiding in plain sight, and we’re thrilled to present its World Premiere,” says EPIX President & CEO Mark Greenberg. “The film takes viewers on a revelatory journey exploring the secrets of Bitcoin, Silk Road, and other of the Deep Web’s many mysteries.”
(Fun fact: Seth Gordon is an Executive Producer, and he’s worked on titles like Horrible Bosses, Identity Thief, and more.)
“We could not be more thrilled to have EPIX presenting this vital film to their wide-reaching audience,” remarked producer Marc Schiller. “Although portrayed as a novel innovation populated by hackers and techno-geeks, we look forward to sharing how Bitcoin, Silk Road and the Deep Web have a much richer history with stakes considerably more grave than the conventional media has reported.”
Director Alex Winter adds, “The Deep Web embodies some of the most significant and impactful issues of our time, yet it is largely misrepresented and misunderstood.”
“We are excited to be working with EPIX to bring this extraordinary story to light.”