Philippine movie premier: "Age of Stupid" by the Greenpeace Southeast Asia - Philippines
September 22, 2009
CCP Tanghalang Manuel Conde
6PM - house opens
6:30PM - program starts
7PM - movie screening
Greenpeace to support global premier of Age of Stupid
Greenpeace is supporting the global premiere of the climate docu-drama-animation Age of Stupid - which coincides with the UN General Assembly in New York - in 25 countries and 6 continents [1], as part of the campaign to get a deal that is fair, ambitious and binding at this year’s UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen. Hundreds of cinemas in over 40 countries around the world – in every continent, including Antarctica - will be showing the film on 21st and 22nd September, hopefully setting a new Guinness World Record for the largest ever simultaneous screening.
“The goal is to get this film in front of 250 million people, and create 25 million climate activists,” said Martin Lloyd, climate communications manager at Greenpeace International. “That might be an impossible goal, but we’d be stupid not to try.”
Age of Stupid is directed by Franny Armstrong (McLibel), and produced by Lizzie Gillett and Oscar winner John Battsek (One Day in September). It stars Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite as an old man living in the devastated world of 2055, watching ‘archive’ footage from 2008 and asking “Why didn't we stop climate change while we had the chance?” It has been described by media and politicians alike as of vital importance and essential viewing to anyone who cares about the survival of our planet. [2]
The plan for Greenpeace’s involvement was hatched in Amsterdam, in the mess of the Rainbow Warrior, after the film’s director Franny Armstrong had arranged an advance screening for Dutch MPs.
“When we realised how ambitious they were, we just had to get involved. They’ve reinvented film funding, distribution and promotion - not because they wanted to promote a film, but because they had to if they were going to change the world,” continued Lloyd. [3]
Joining Postlethwaite, Armstrong and Gillett in hosting the premiere are Kofi Annan and actress Gillian Anderson. A-list celebrities, leading climate activists and Heads of State will walk up a ‘green carpet’ when they arrive by boat, bike, rickshaw or skateboard, at the solar-powered cinema tent in downtown Manhattan. The premier will feature live linkups from glaciers in the Himalayas and Indonesian Rainforest provided by Greenpeace. Music will be provided by Thom Yorke of Radiohead.
There will be an opportunity for everyone to participate in the Age of Stupid event by buying tickets to one of the hundreds of premieres around the world. Further information about where the film will be premiering is available at www.ageofstupid.net
Notes
[1] Greenpeace is supporting the film in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, and the United States,
Australia, New Zealand and the UK have already premiered the film with Greenpeace’s support.
[2] "The most powerful piece of cultural discourse on climate change ever produced." - Mark Lynas, author of Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet
"I thought the Age of Stupid was an incredibly powerful account of the effects of climate change, the urgency, of climate change and the reasons we must act as quickly as possible." Ed Miliband, UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
“Compelling and constantly surprising…the first successful dramatisation of climate change to reach the big screen****” - The Guardian, UK
“The most imaginative and dramatic assault on the institutional complacency shrouding the issue ****” The Times, UK
[3] Age of Stupid is funded through an innovative ‘Crowd Funding’ mechanism, whereby individual investors buy shares in the film.
Post cinema distribution in the UK is being managed by Indie Screenings, which allows anyone to turn their home, workplace or town hall into a cinema for an evening.
The UK People’s Premiere was the largest simultaneous screening of a premiere in history, shown on over 60 UK screens. The global premiere aims to reach hundreds of screens.
Further information
Images http://www.ageofstupid.net/
Press pack http://www.ageofstupid.net/
Trailer http://www.ageofstupid.net/
EPK Clips http://www.ageofstupid.net/
