15. PHONOME — Joybubbles

Joybubbles. Analog hacking Josef Carl Engressia Jr. was born in 1949, at the age of four he became interested in telephones, discovered at the age of seven that he could make sounds to manipulate the telephone system, and in 1991 decided to reject adulthood and legally changed his name to Joybubbles. Rachael J. Morrison is the story of a blind boy who craved human contact the most and became the forerunner of phone phraking. Before hackers sat down at Phone computers, phreakers manipulated technology to trick the system into making long-distance phone calls for free. So they created something like a proto-hacker subculture — the film features young Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak playing with a blue box, a device that mimics the signals used by the telephone network. Joybubbles did not need a device — it had absolute hearing and could whistle at exactly 2600 Hz, thus taking control of the network. However, it was not just about the possibility of free conversations. From a child, functioning in the world of sounds, he used sounds to establish contact with others. He also created his own phone lines that people could call to hear his stories. In one interview, Rachael J. Morrison speaks of him as the forerunner of today's podcasters, who turned his phone into a radio broadcast. The man on the other side of Joybubbles also talks about himself in the film - the director received tapes on which she recounts her whole life. Cynthia, a woman who also appears on screen, recorded his story with the idea of writing the book. The book was never made, but the tapes survived. Added to this were recordings of his speeches, materials found by family members, conversations with friends and loved ones. Rachael J. Morrison has created a documentary that, while touching on difficult issues — disability, trauma, isolation — is filled with warmth and hope. Joybubbles is a story about a man who — in the words of the creator herself — “did not hack the system; he hacked his life”. — 15th Fonomo Music & Film Festival Bydgoszcz, Pomorze and Kujawy

Organized by: Nowa Sztuka Wet Music Foundation

The Main Partner and Patron of the Festival is the Local Government of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship.

The action is co-financed by European funds. The project is co-financed by the City of Bydgoszcz.

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Honorary patronage: Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship Piotr Całbecki

Patrocinador: Tesla Electrorecycling

Partners: Księga Ręka Piotr Kikta, Replika.pl sp. z o.o., Radosław Drwencki — Dawid Cholewiński Projects — music workshops, dreadmaker, Etnodrums Krzysztof Majczuk Tattoo Collective, Daron Technik, Monde, Art Connections Foundation Małgorzata Dziemitko

Cooperation: City Cultural Centre in Bydgoszcz, City Gallery bwa in Bydgoszcz, Club Mózg, Velvet Cafe, Rothera Mills, Bakery Bydgoszcz, Przeźrocza Film Festival

Media patronage: Radio Kapitał, TVP Bydgoszcz, TVP Info, Polish Radio PIK, BIK Noises and melodies, NN6T, Glissando, Undertone, Culture within reach