Web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor takes on copyright laws and their importance in the quickly growing Mash-up genre with his new documentary, RiP!: A Remix Manifesto. Gaylor focuses his attention on the poster boy of Mash-up music, Gregg Gillis aka Girl Talk, as they both work to make the case that remixing is form of art that shouldn't be punishable under current copyright laws.

The film has already won several awards at various film festivals and is beginning to receive even more attention now that Gaylor has posted the entire film online and challenged his fanbase, in true fair use fashion, to remix parts of the movie. The best remixes will eventually become part of the official re-release of the film.

This isn't the first time Gillis has appeared in a politically charged movie. In 2007, he appeared alongside DJ Danger Mouse in a documentary entitled Good Copy Bad Copy that dealt more with the legality of internet file sharing.

Check out the first chapter of RiP!: A Remix Manifesto, which is available in its entirety online here:

To find out about screenings in your area, or to book FREE screenings in the US, head here.