Cyborg: A Documentary

“I became interested in making a film about Neil because his dual persona, as cyborg and artist, could provide the perfect lens through which to examine the rising urgency in understanding the tensions between technology and humanity. Though widely known as the first ‘cyborg’, Neil’s story is ironically about things that are fundamentally human – the pursuit of experience, the persistence of curiosity, creative expression, and the power of imagination.

There is drama in his story, too. On his journey to becoming technologically enhanced, Neil has faced considerable physical and psychological pain, and as his fame grows and he continues to assume a leadership role in the cyborg community, he is increasingly catapulted into the cross hairs of critics and, most dangerously, religious zealots. His is also the story of human evolution – a topic rife with conflict.

Nevertheless, Neil and his cyborg partner Moon both exhibit a reluctance to be swayed by fear or negativity absorbed from our sci-fi cultural inheritance. To counterbalance their attitude and create a context for their cyborg story in terms of past and present, archive references are interwoven amongst the filmed footage. By relating their personal stories and linking them to the bigger picture, the film is intimate in its storytelling but epic in the ideas it raises. It examines the ways in which cutting-edge technology can be used to make us feel more connected to others, how it can amplify our idiosyncrasies and enrich our perception and perspective on the world.”

Carey Born