Life 2.0

Second Life is an on-line community in which participants interact in a virtual digital world that in most respects resembles our own; folks on Second Life can design an avatar to represent them that can look however they wish, and for many people Second Life offers the opportunity to be the sort of person they aren't (and can't be) in reality. Filmmaker Jason Spingarn-Koff became fascinated with the possibilities of Second Life, and joined the on-line community to find out more about it. After interacting with a variety of characters in the virtual environment, he set out to learn about their lives in the real world, and the documentary Life 2.0 examines the impact users have on Second Life, and how the experience in turn has an impact on them. In Life 2.0, we meet a couple who met in the digital world but found making their romance work outside of cyberspace was a tremendous challenge; a woman who has build a successful business designing and selling virtual clothing and accessories for Second Life avatars; and a man whose girlfriend is surprised when he explores a new side of his sexual identity in the on-line world. Life 2.0 was an official selection at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.