Monday 14th December 2009 to Monday 21st December
Age of Stupid
Age of Stupid is an award-winning climate change drama-documentary staring Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking back at “archive” footage from 2007 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?- Coming Soon: DVD (for home viewing) soon to be in stock at Veggies Bookstall at the Sumac Centre.
Latest:
- Dec'09: 'How to reduce your carbon emissions by 10%'
- Nov'09: Why Veggies is Not Stupid
- Nov'09: Screening Feedbaack
- April'09: NottStupid campaign networking
- March'09:Nottingham Indie Screenings
- Film Synopsis
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Possible spam filter - check correct format of address Website: http://www.veggies.org.uk/notstupid [ Map ] |
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Age of Stupid is an award-winning climate change drama-documentary staring Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking back at “archive” footage from 2007 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?
Not Stupid Campaign The Age of Stupid has plans for 250 million viewers to become campaigners before COP15, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. Left to it’s own devices, the UN process will fail. We must come together to form the most powerful people’s movement of all time. Very very quickly. Every able person must play their part: there are a million different solutions to climate change and there is a role for everyone.Get Active - check out the Nottingham Not Stupid Network.  Indie screenings were launched in Nottingham on Friday 22nd March at 7.30pm at:
... You can help us fund more screenings, and ongoing climate campaigning, with a small donation.  The Age of Stupid finally arrived at Broadway Cinema in Nottingham on 24th April.To mark the Nottingham screenings, a Nottingham Not Stupid event was held in Broadway's Mezzanine cafe/bar on Friday 24th April, with representatives of many of Nottingham's grass roots climate campaigns. The film's Producer, Lizzie Gillett attended, introducing the screenings and leading a lively and well attended studio discussion. From Age of Stupid blog: "Coming hot on the heels of the pre-emptive arrest of 114 climate activists at a school in Nottingham for allegedly planning a protest at the nearby coal power station, you might have expected the guests at Nottingham's Not Stupid festival to be a little wary. But actually the atmosphere was much more relaxed than that, with the Thought Police forgotten for a while in a big climate campaigners' love-in, with no fewer than 21 stalls from 21 different climate action organisations." ...more... NottStupid Exhibition and campaign networkingTo continue the campaign locally contact any of these participating groups, or email NotStupid@veggies.org.uk
Notts Indymedia Features: Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking at "old" footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?See the trailer at http://live.ageofstupid.net, then call everyone you know and urge them to see this film.  SYNOPSIS The Age of Stupid is the new film from director Franny Armstrong (McLibel / Truth or Dairy) and producer John Battsek (One Day In September). Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite (In The Name of the Father, Brassed Off) stars as a man living alone in the devastated 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 film covers climate change, oil, war, politics, consumerism and human stupidity. It features:
The Age of Stupid was filmed in America, UK, India, Nigeria, Iraq, Jordan, The Alps and released in the UK in March 2009, with a record-breaking premier in London's Leicester Square and 65 other cinemas! After the current cinema release there will be the opportunity for independent screenings at social centres, film clubs, schools & colleges and everywhere else. Check website for details of how to organise a screening: http://www.ageofstupid.net/organise_a_screening. Stupid is now out on DVD to be on TV soon, every opportunity to make sure it gets seen by everyone you know. See review at http://www.thesun.co.uk(!) and http://www.viewnottingham.co.uk Why Veggies is Not StupidFranny asked "How did Stupid Change Your Life?" Here's my response: Despite actively campaigning for vegan solutions to climate change for over 20 years, the Age of Stupid gave a hook to redouble the efforts of our volunteer-led vegan catering campaign, Veggies in Nottingham. On leaving the Leicester People's Premiere I realised that we only had a few short years until 2015 to slow climate change before tipping us over the brink. Worse still we only had those few short months until December to get the global agreement without which the rest would seem a lost cause. However i have never been willing to put any trust in the political process - whoever you vote for it always seems to to be politicians that get in, always working hand in hand with their corporate paymasters. I realised that the future was up to us not them. There seemed to be three things a catering campaign like ours could consider: 1. Reduce our default radius of operation by (say) 10% year on year, aiming to be running with bike & trailer kitchens by the middle of the next decade! 2. Phase out the use of (French-grown) soya in our key product, Veggies Burgers, in favour of (potentially) UK-grown hemp. 3. Encourage our retail & wholesale customers to forgo the perceived advantage of buying our ready-made frozen vegan burgers and sosages, by offering ambient dry mixes instead (hand made by vegans at our vegan social centre). Later in the year two more challenges came to mind: 1. persuade Nottingham City Council to adopt a weekly veggie day: See http://veggieday.org.uk/ and 2. persuade 'environmental' campaign groups, notably Greenpeace, to come out of the closet and acknowledge the vital need to give equal consideration to diet as to other actions to fight climate change. See discussion at Indymedia. More at http://www.veggies.org.uk/climate Nottingham Screenings FeedbackFranny asked "How did the audience react to your Stupid Screening?" Here's my response: Having known Franny since the heady days of McLibel I was determined that The Age of Stupid would rock Nottingham. There was sadly no People's Premiere in Nottingham (format issues?), but a bike ride through Leicester got me to the Premiere there. Following our Indie Screening of the film and the simultaneous webcast, Stupid finally saw its mainstream Nottingham launch at Broadway Cinema with a week long season from 24th April. To mark the Nottingham screenings, a Nottingham Not Stupid event was held in Broadway's Mezzanine cafe/bar on Friday 24th April, with representatives of many of Nottingham's grass roots climate campaigns. The film's Producer, Lizzie Gillett attended, introducing the screenings and leading a lively and well attended studio discussion. The audience throughout the week of Broadway Cinema Screenings left enthusiastically clutching their Action Packs and Copenhagen 'deal or no deal' newspapers. By chance our Nottingham Not Stupid event fell on the date of the launch of the fabulous COAL CARAVAN, walking and cycling between the sites for proposed open cast mines and new power stations in the Midlands, Yorkshire and North East. See Indymedia report.  Critical Mass Bike Ride gathering in advance of Age of Stupid ride-by. From Age of Stupid blog: "Coming hot on the heels of the pre-emptive arrest of 114 climate activists at a school in Nottingham for allegedly planning a protest at the nearby coal power station, you might have expected the guests at Nottingham's Not Stupid festival to be a little wary. But actually the atmosphere was much more relaxed than that, with the Thought Police forgotten for a while in a big climate campaigners' love-in, with no fewer than 21 stalls from 21 different climate action organisations."  Evening Post Report How did the audience react?Though small, the Indie Screening audience was perfectly formed, with climate campers, vegan campaigners, Transition Town members and community activists, some of whom went away to organise their own Indie Screenings in the following months, and all of whom went away ready to redouble their efforts to tackle climate chaos.What's Next for the Not Stupid Team?The declared intent of The Age of Stupid was to turn 250 million viewers into climate activists before "Copenhagen". I don't know if this actual figure was achieved, but many many people have been reached, not least by the 10:10 Campaign which encourages participants to cut their carbon footprint by 10% in 2010.According to a Guardian analysis, 'How to reduce your carbon emissions by 10%', it could be easier than you think. If you are signed up to 10:10, you need to cut about 1.4 tonnes of your carbon emissions by next year. One third of this saving can be made by cutting the carbon in your diet by 1/3. Save 0.5 tonnes CO2 by simply enjoying great vegan meals 3 days a week! That's more than by installing 2 kilowatt solar PV panels or canceling that ski flight to Geneva. http://www.1010uk.org/ Veggies Climate Change Campaigns http://www.veggies.org.uk/climate Although this film (which began life as an expose of 'big oil') doesn't cover the critically damaging effects of livestock farming on the climate, viewers alerted to the imminent collapse of human 'civilisation' will have no option but to make the changes to their lifestyle that can only be effective by including a major reduction on their consumption of animal products. This is a win-win all around. Not only will billions of animals be saved from the horrors the livestock industry, there is just a chance that there may be a living planet left for them, and us. We know that "a low carbon diet has hardly any animal products in it" and that "even food miles and transport don't compare to the impact of eating animal products in carbon terms". We can spread this message to those inspired by this film, and together lives will be saved. See more at http://www.veggies.org.uk/climate/ The Copenhagen UN climate talks: Deal or No Deal?A demystifying newspaper about COP-15 has been produced by people across UK, Spain, Holland and Greece, all of whom have been involved in Climate Camp at some point. It should be a super-mobilizing tool for the coming months.We have a thousand copies to distribute at the NottStupid event and screenings, and beyond. Request copies from NotStupid@veggies.org.uk You can see what it looks like at http://www.very.org.uk/dealornodeal/dond.pdf (NB. it's a 3.8MB PDF) The Coal Caravan was Not Stupid The fabulous climate caravan lives on, as the COAL CARAVAN, walking and cycling between the sites for proposed open cast mines and new power stations in the Midlands, Yorkshire and North East, talking to local people, organising bicycled power films and events, holding public discussions and displays, and linking groups from different areas to help strengthen isolated campaigns.
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