Gravitas Ventures has secured all worldwide rights to “Banking on Bitcoin” from director Christopher Cannucciari. Bitcoin, the fastest growing digital currency, is arguably the most disruptive digital invention since the Internet. The film follows the ideological battle underway between fringe utopists and mainstream capitalism; all the while key players in the space such as Charlie Shrem, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Barry Silbert, Erik Voorhees, Nathanial Popper, Alex Winter and more define how they think this technology will shape our lives.
Not since the invention of the Internet itself has there been such a controversial technological creation as Bitcoin. Bitcoin’s early pioneers sought to blur the lines of sovereignty and the financial status quo. After years of underground development, Bitcoin grabbed the attention of a curious public – as well as the ire of the regulators the technology had subverted. Yet after landmark arrests of prominent cyber criminals, Bitcoin, which actually surged on election night, still faces its most severe adversary, the very banks it was built to destroy.
“Our production has excelled in more ways than we could ever have anticipated,” said producer David Guy Levy. “With the material we’ve managed to produce, and the interviews we’ve procured, we hope that the audience will find the final piece as engaging and thought-provoking as we do.”
“We were impressed with the caliber of spokespeople these filmmakers worked with to weigh in on one of the most heated subjects of the digital world,” said Sr. Director of Acquisitions for Gravitas, Dan Fisher. “Getting this film out to theaters and VOD will grow the conversation they have begun.”
“Banking on Bitcoin” is executive-produced by Emmy® Award winning and Oscar® nominated filmmakers Matthew O’Neill and Jon Alpert. O’Neill has been making documentaries for more than ten years, including “Redemtpion!” (2013 Oscar Nomination) and “In Tahrir Square.” He produced/ directed with Alpert, earning a Columbia Dupont award, Peabody®Award, Overseas Press Club Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards. Alpert is Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Downtown Community Television Center (DCTV), a non-profit community media arts center, located in a landmark Tribeca firehouse in New York City’s Chinatown. He has won three Primetime Emmys, eleven News & Documentary Emmy Awards, one National Emmy for Sports Programming, as well as three Columbia Dupont Awards, two Overseas Press Club Awards, a Peabody Award and an Oscar nomination.
The deal was negotiated by Dan Fisher, Sr. Director of Acquisitions for Gravitas Ventures and by Preferred Content on behalf of Periscope Entertainment.