The new documentary by award-winning Los Angeles filmmaker Rebecca Baron is an engrossing study of the Mass Observation movement in Britain. Founded in 1937, Mass Observation was an eccentric social science enterprise that used hidden cameras to record and scrutinize behavior in public spaces. Initially concerned with anthropology, the outfit became a civil spy unit during World War II before re-emerging as a market research firm in the ’50s. Baron--who has shown her work at the New York, Rotterdam, Oberhausen and Vienna festivals--considers this fascinating history in relation to contemporary issues of surveillance, public self-disclosure and privacy. Screened with The Idea of North (1995, 14 min., b/w).

In person: Rebecca Baron

For student and CalArts alumni, faculty and staff discounts,
please call the REDCAT box office at 213-237-2800.