Technology Award
2022

The Hacktivist

Today, we fully entrust our lives to tech. Our credit card details, our personal identity numbers, our private conversations and photos, all are 'safely' kept inside our phones and computers. But who said big tech promised to protect us? Celebrity hacker Andrew 'Bunnie' Huang first clashed with US tech giant Microsoft for teaching others how to modify the Xbox. Almost 20 years later, he is suing the US government to push for the right to use and own technology, all while creating hackable hardware with other tech superstars like whistleblower Edward Snowden and firmware hacker Sean Cross. Bunnie is convinced that, “If you can’t hack what you have, you don’t own it.” This documentary tinkers with the hacker’s mind on issues around transparency and privacy in the hardware world, all while Bunnie dismantles his childhood, his philosophy, and his controversy. The film seeks to remind viewers that they have an agency to control the technology they use and not to be a slave to technology. It is an urgent reminder that we all are active users and not passive consumers of technology.