Monday 21 September 2009

Age of Stupid - global premiere and screenings in Oxford

The Age of Stupid, Franny Armstrong's film on Climate Change, was released in the UK back in March - but the huge global premiere is taking place today and tomorrow.

On September 21st / 22nd, on the eve of the UN General Assembly's climate session, The Age of Stupid will be launched internationally at the biggest and greenest live film event the world has ever seen. A-list celebrities will walk the green carpet to a solar powered cinema tent in downtown New York, linked by satellite to 700 cinemas in 50+ countries. As the website puts it, "For one night only, Stupid will screen in every corner of the globe, from beachside screens made from old sails in pacific islands and rooftops in the middle east to uber glitzy green carpets in Paris and Amsterdam."

Following the screening of The Age of Stupid, there will be a further 40 minute event featuring Kofi Annan, Gillian Anderson, Mary Robinson, the film's director Franny Armstrong, the star of the film Pete Postlethwaite and other leading thinkers, celebrities and political figures from around the world. There will be live music from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and satellite links to scientists working in the Indonesian Rainforest and at the melting glaciers in the Himalayas. A group of children will speak from the very room in Copenhagen in which all our futures will be decided at the UN climate summit in December.

It won't be showing in Oxford tonight, but there will be two more screenings in October if you haven't had a chance to see it yet:

Friday 16 October
7.30 p.m. at West Oxford Primary School, Ferry Hinksey Road,
with an introduction and talk by Mark Lynas,
Climate Change Supervisor for the film and author of ‘Six Degrees’.
Showing organised by Michael Soth as part of ‘Thriving Sustainably’ – an inspiring and visionary community event taking place in West Oxford Community Centre the day after,
Saturday, October 17th from 9.30am – 7pm.
For more info visit: www.thrivingsustainably.org.uk

Thursday 29 October
8 p.m. at West Oxford Community Centre, Botley Road,
with an introduction and post-film discussion led by
Tim Nicholson, local environmentalist and campaigner.
Find out what local residents are doing to tackle climate change and get inspired or join in.
Event organised by Low Carbon West Oxford.

Both venues are only a few minutes’ walk from Oxford railway station.
No tickets, just turn up!

Further info and actions:

Check out the film's website, which is packed with information on the film, climate change, sxcreenings and other events.

And check out not stupid, the action campaign linked to the film. There are actions you can take, information on the Copenhagen negotiations in December.