The open web is arguably the world’s most vital invisible utility–and it is under siege.

We have traded a free internet for a collection of walled gardens. Today, a handful of digital landlords use algorithms to dictate our reality, while closed AI threatens to change the ways we connect. We are at a breaking point: we can either let gatekeepers continue to consolidate their power, or we can reclaim the open source spirit that built the web in the first place.

The future of the internet is being decided right now and it needs our help.

From acclaimed director Bao Nguyen (BTS, Be Water, The Greatest Night in Pop), Code for the People is a documentary short exploring the past, present, and contested future of the open web.

While more than 40% of the internet runs on open source WordPress, this film is about something much bigger than software. It is a cinematic interrogation of what the internet is actually for, who gets to own it, and what it takes to keep it free.