Python: The Documentary | An origin story

This 90‑minute documentary tells the story of Python, the world’s most beloved programming language. What began as a side project in Amsterdam during the 1990s evolved into the software powering artificial intelligence, data science, and some of the world’s biggest companies. At one point Python’s future was uncertain and it almost disappeared. Featuring Guido van Rossum, Travis Oliphant, Barry Warsaw, and many others, the film chronicles Python’s rise, its community‑driven evolution, the conflicts that nearly tore it apart, and the language’s impact on everything. 00:00 - Intro 01:10 - ABC - the predecessor to Python 03:50 - The Amoeba system 05:26 - Guido creating Python 08:38 - Open source release 10:36 - A growing community 13:13 - Famous 1994 Workshop 16:04 - Corporation for National Research Initiatives 18:21 - Origins of the BDFL 19:48 - Early scientific Python community (Travis Oliphant) 21:45 - Importance of Python being open source (Blender) 24:03 - Early Python contributors and the importance of fun 25:25 - The Zen of Python 27:56 - Tumultuous start-up life 30:33 - Birth of the Python Software Foundation 31:58 - The community is the true strength of Python 34:39 - Growth: Web development (Dropbox) 37:28 - Growth: Data science (Anaconda) 41:23 - Dropbox hiring Guido 42:59 - Python 2 to 3 55:21 - "Python is for Girls" 58:30 - Mariatta's story 01:06:05 - Growth: AI/ML (Meta) 01:08:55 - Guido at PyCon 01:10:46 - The Walrus Operator 01:14:14 - Guido stepping down as BDFL 01:16:35 - "Can this work without Guido?" (Governance) 01:20:38 - Guido never expected Python's success 01:21:25 - Python has taken over the world 01:23:19 - Credits