Some years ago, I interviewed Franny Armstrong about her inspiring, amazing docomentary film, McLibel. For the interview, Franny was in the UK and I was crouched in the narrow, dark hallway of my Sydney rental (the only phone line in the house). The line was crackly, Franny was talking 10 to the dozen and I was desperately trying to get it all down in the 10 minutes I had with her.
I remember how Franny’s passion for her film oozed down the line. McLibel was a great doco with a global impact that’s still resonating today.
Franny is good at making films that change the world. So it’s great to know she’s behind a new film about climate change impacts. Set in 2055, The Age of Stupid stars Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking back at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?
Early reviews of The Age of Stupid are promising (it hasn’t been officially released yet). New Statesman says “It is angry but nuanced, despairing but strangely motivating.”, while George Monbiot at The Guardian calls it “fascinating”. It’s his pick as the thing we’ll be talking about in 2009, saying it’s the “first successful dramatisation of climate change”.
The Age of Stupid opens in the UK in March, with Australian release planned for July.
If you’re in Sydney this Sunday night at 6.30pm, you might still nab a seat for a private screening of the film at the Chauvel Cinema in Paddington, followed by an NGO-led campaigning brainstorm session. You must RSVP to [email protected] and I’m guessing seats are very limited, so get in quick!
