| The Age of Stupid | |
|---|---|
 Pete Postlethwaite in 2055 | |
| Directed by | Franny Armstrong |
| Produced by |
John Battsek Lizzie Gillett |
| Starring | Pete Postlethwaite |
| Edited by | David G. Hill |
| Music by | Chris Brierley |
Release dates | May 2008, 2008 |
| Country | 
United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Release
The Age of Stupid is to premiere at the Sunny Side of the Doc International Documentary Festival at La Rochelle, France, 24-27 June 2008.
Plot
This ambitious drama- documentary- animation hybrid stars Pete Postlethwaite as an old man living in the devastated world of 2055, watching " archive" footage from the present day and asking: why didn't we stop climate change while we still had the chance? The action weaves together six real human stories from around the world and examines the stark questions facing us all.
Jeh is an airline owner in India whose aim is to move even the poorest of his countrymen from the trains to the skies. After all, why shouldn't Indians consume like Europeans? But can economics expand indefinitely? And how much CO2 does each flight emit?
Layefa, a Nigerian trainee doctor living in Africa's richest oil region, sees many children dying from lack of clean water. Does oil extraction have to cause so much suffering? Where did all the oil money go?
Al the Hurricane Katrina hero is a paleontologist who thinks the devastation caused in his home city of New Orleans is just a taste of what is to come if we continue to "burn up" our most valuable resource. Would an intelligent species destroy its only home? Does global warming increase the ferocity of hurricanes?
Fernand is an 82-year old mountain guide from the French Alps who has seen his beloved glaciers melt by more than 150 metres over his long lifetime. 3000 lorries "taking French potatoes to Italy and bringing them back as mash" drive past his house every day. Does more consumption increase happiness?
Jamila and Adnan were only 5 and 6 when their father was killed and their home destroyed by a missile on the second day of the Iraq war. Now refugees in Jordan, they make a living on the streets selling second-hand American shoes. Is the war in Iraq about oil? Are cheap holidays really more valuable than human life? Where will hundreds of millions of climate change refugees go?
Piers from Cornwall thinks wind turbines are "the foot soldiers, the pioneers" of a more intelligent energy system based on massively reducing energy consumption. However, his plans for a wind farm have been repeatedly blocked by his neighbours who have no intention of letting him spoil their views. But does enough oil remain to build a new society to run without it once supplies have been used up?
External links
- Official film website
- The Age of Stupid on Myspace
- Age of Stupid, The (2008) at IMDb
- Franny's page on the making of The Age of Stupid, 2008
- Undercurrents Alternative News "Preview Screening to raise final cash for The Age of Stupid", 14.02.2008
- The Age of Stupid on Channel 4 News, 17.02.2008
- One Climate.net article about The Age of Stupid, 18.02.2008
- Second Life News feature about The Age of Stupid, 25.02.2008
See also
- An Inconvenient Truth (2006)- Al Gore's take on climate change
- The Denial Machine (2006) - CBC Television Canadian documentary about the potential costs of climate change
- The 11th Hour (2007) - Leonardo di Caprio's film about climate change
- Everything's Cool (2007) - a study of the artificial political debate about climate change created and funded by the oil and coal industries
- Arctic Tale (2007) - Starbucks-sponsored climate change film narrated by Queen Latifah
- The Great Global Warming Swindle (2007) - an opposing view from Martin Durkin (television director)
Further Reading
- Heat by George Monbiot - how climate change can be stopped
- Capitalism as if the World Matters by Jonathon Porritt - a new type of capitalism to save the world from environmental catastrophe
- Change the World for a Fiver from We Are What We Do - 50 world-changing actions
- Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change by Elizabeth Kolbert - based on her extremely readable series in The New Yorker
- The Winds of Change by Eugene Linden - climate change is a 'serial killer' that has contributed to the deaths of many civilisations
- The Weather Makers: The History & Impact of Climate Change by Tim Flannery - what each of us can do to avoid catastrophe
Category:Environmental films
Category:2008 films
Category:UK documentary films
Category:Action on climate change
Category:English-language films
| The Age of Stupid | |
|---|---|
|
Pete Postlethwaite in 2055 | |
| Directed by | Franny Armstrong |
| Produced by |
John Battsek Lizzie Gillett |
| Starring | Pete Postlethwaite |
| Edited by | David G. Hill |
| Music by | Chris Brierley |
Release dates | May 2008, 2008 |
| Country |
United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Release
The Age of Stupid is to premiere at the Sunny Side of the Doc International Documentary Festival at La Rochelle, France, 24-27 June 2008.
Plot
This ambitious drama- documentary- animation hybrid stars Pete Postlethwaite as an old man living in the devastated world of 2055, watching " archive" footage from the present day and asking: why didn't we stop climate change while we still had the chance? The action weaves together six real human stories from around the world and examines the stark questions facing us all.
Jeh is an airline owner in India whose aim is to move even the poorest of his countrymen from the trains to the skies. After all, why shouldn't Indians consume like Europeans? But can economics expand indefinitely? And how much CO2 does each flight emit?
Layefa, a Nigerian trainee doctor living in Africa's richest oil region, sees many children dying from lack of clean water. Does oil extraction have to cause so much suffering? Where did all the oil money go?
Al the Hurricane Katrina hero is a paleontologist who thinks the devastation caused in his home city of New Orleans is just a taste of what is to come if we continue to "burn up" our most valuable resource. Would an intelligent species destroy its only home? Does global warming increase the ferocity of hurricanes?
Fernand is an 82-year old mountain guide from the French Alps who has seen his beloved glaciers melt by more than 150 metres over his long lifetime. 3000 lorries "taking French potatoes to Italy and bringing them back as mash" drive past his house every day. Does more consumption increase happiness?
Jamila and Adnan were only 5 and 6 when their father was killed and their home destroyed by a missile on the second day of the Iraq war. Now refugees in Jordan, they make a living on the streets selling second-hand American shoes. Is the war in Iraq about oil? Are cheap holidays really more valuable than human life? Where will hundreds of millions of climate change refugees go?
Piers from Cornwall thinks wind turbines are "the foot soldiers, the pioneers" of a more intelligent energy system based on massively reducing energy consumption. However, his plans for a wind farm have been repeatedly blocked by his neighbours who have no intention of letting him spoil their views. But does enough oil remain to build a new society to run without it once supplies have been used up?
External links
- Official film website
- The Age of Stupid on Myspace
- Age of Stupid, The (2008) at IMDb
- Franny's page on the making of The Age of Stupid, 2008
- Undercurrents Alternative News "Preview Screening to raise final cash for The Age of Stupid", 14.02.2008
- The Age of Stupid on Channel 4 News, 17.02.2008
- One Climate.net article about The Age of Stupid, 18.02.2008
- Second Life News feature about The Age of Stupid, 25.02.2008
See also
- An Inconvenient Truth (2006)- Al Gore's take on climate change
- The Denial Machine (2006) - CBC Television Canadian documentary about the potential costs of climate change
- The 11th Hour (2007) - Leonardo di Caprio's film about climate change
- Everything's Cool (2007) - a study of the artificial political debate about climate change created and funded by the oil and coal industries
- Arctic Tale (2007) - Starbucks-sponsored climate change film narrated by Queen Latifah
- The Great Global Warming Swindle (2007) - an opposing view from Martin Durkin (television director)
Further Reading
- Heat by George Monbiot - how climate change can be stopped
- Capitalism as if the World Matters by Jonathon Porritt - a new type of capitalism to save the world from environmental catastrophe
- Change the World for a Fiver from We Are What We Do - 50 world-changing actions
- Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change by Elizabeth Kolbert - based on her extremely readable series in The New Yorker
- The Winds of Change by Eugene Linden - climate change is a 'serial killer' that has contributed to the deaths of many civilisations
- The Weather Makers: The History & Impact of Climate Change by Tim Flannery - what each of us can do to avoid catastrophe
Category:Environmental films
Category:2008 films
Category:UK documentary films
Category:Action on climate change
Category:English-language films