The Age of Stupid, a 90-minute film about climate change, set in the future, recently had its world premiere in London on March 15th. The docu-drama hybrid is about a man (Pete Postlethwaite) living alone in the ruined world of 2055, looking back at “archive” footage from 2007 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?
The 92 minute film, directed by Franny Armstrong, is already stirring some debate as it addresses, with a mix of wit and animation, the challenging subjects of climate change, war, politics, greed, consumerism, human nature and stupidity.
The mix of dramatization and documentary future does have some pitfalls with addressing a serious subject like climate change. The dramatization (or fantastical scenes) may diffuse the overall importance of the message contained in the film, similar to what happened with Fast Food Nation. The use of humor and levity, although helpful to engage a wider audience, does run the risk of trivializing or minimizing the magnitude of the environmental problems facing the world. Although some film theorists argue that the humor and dramatization may actually encourage a different demographic to see the film and engage with the subject matter.
The independent film raised the £450,000 needed for production by “crowd-funding” - selling shares to individuals and groups.
The Age of Stupid will be in UK theatres on March 20th, New Zealand and Australia in July 2009 and with North American screenings in September 2009.
Visit: http://www.ageofstupid.net/
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