The Dissonance Event Series is proud to present viewing and discussion of TikTok, Boom, another film from Women Make Movies. Directed by Shalini Kantayya and nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, TikTok, Boom examines the algorithmic, socio-political, economic, and cultural influences and impacts of TikTok.

The film will be available to view on PBS: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/tiktok-boom/

Dissonance will host a conversation with filmmaker Shalini Kantayya and a panel of U-M faculty and students on March 16 at 11 a.m. (https://events.umich.edu/event/104991)

TikTok, Boom Events Page: https://safecomputing.umich.edu/events/dissonance/TikTokBoom

Register to attend the March 16 virtual discussion: https://umich.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_a7DS9uIcQdKpkVCdqDJNRQ
Add the event to your Google Calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/r/eventedit/copy/NHFwNGRjODBuam5qOXNrNGZhdm84OGwyazkgdW1pY2guZWR1X2ZkczI0Z2V2cGE0MnY5NTc2bG5wZTJjbWxrQGc

ABOUT THE FILM
Dissecting one of the most influential platforms of the contemporary social media landscape, TikTok Boom examines the algorithmic, socio-political, economic, and cultural influences and impact of the history-making app. This rigorous exploration balances a genuine interest in the TikTok community and its innovative mechanics with a healthy skepticism around the security issues, global political challenges, and racial biases behind the platform. A cast of Gen Z subjects, helmed by influencer Feroza Aziz, remains at its center, making this one of the most needed and empathetic films exploring what it means to be a digital native.

DIRECTOR & PRODUCER: SHALINI KANTAYYA
Emmy-nominated filmmaker Shalini Kantayya directs fiction and nonfiction films that artfully marry the future of science with the future of story. Her latest film, TikTok, Boom, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and was official selection at SXSW. Her critically-acclaimed 2020 Sundance film, Coded Bias, was broadcast nationally on PBS’s Independent Lens and globally on Netflix in April 2021. The film has been nominated for a Critics’ Choice, and an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Documentary. The film won Best Director at the Social Impact Media Awards, and the Visionary Filmmaker Award at GlobeDocs. Shalini’s debut feature, Catching the Sun, released globally on Netflix on Earth Day 2016 with Executive Producer Leonardo DiCaprio and was named a New York Times Critics’ Pick.

Shalini directed for National Geographic television series Breakthrough ), Executive Produced by Ron Howard, and episodes for NOVA and YouTube Originals. She is a TED Fellow, a William J. Fulbright Scholar, and Concordia Studios Artist Fellow. She is an Associate of the UC Berkeley School of Journalism.

LINKS & RESOURCES
- Shalini Kantayya website: https://www.shalinikantayya.net/about
- National Geographic television series Breakthrough: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/
- TED Fellow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVzNNZ6w-ls)
- Coded Bias - Dissonance Panel Discussion - April 15, 2021: https://safecomputing.umich.edu/events/dissonance/coded-bias-panel-discussion
- Women Make Movies: https://www.wmm.com/