The follow-up to 2001’s documentary series is available in beautiful 4K and narrated, of course, by Sir David Attenborough. Over time, one man prospers through the exploitation of others, shining a light on the realities of global consumer capitalism. Boote also talks with John Taylor, president of industry group PlasticsEurope and chief executive of polyolefins manufacturer Borealis. While extolling the virtues of plastic, Taylor has a smile that would do the Cheshire Cat proud. All Rights Reserved. And while visiting the production line of a company that makes biodegradable plastic, he rubs a handful of the bioplastic pellets all over his face to show his delight at how natural they feel and smell. Educational Films. Filmmaker Werner Boote is that someone, and his feelings about plastic are conflicted. The documentary reveals how plastic sinks under the weight of multiplying bacteria and falls onto the coral, cutting into it like an infected knife, delivering disease into the flesh. The first couple of interviews in Plastic Planet are with plastic industry stakeholders. So concerned was Boote by this trend that he commissioned his own, first-of-its-kind study of sterile couples. Resilience is a program of Post Carbon Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the world transition away from fossil fuels and build sustainable, resilient communities. SYDNEY, Australia: A new documentary “Protecting Paradise” investigating how the ocean plastic pollution issue is impacting remote paradises, reveals that one ton of plastic debris can be found for every kilometre of coastline in Far North Queensland. Films and Videos about Plastic Pollution & Plastic-Free Living. Written and performed by the electronic music group The Orb, with additional music composed by Andreas Lucas, it has a psychedelic, atmospheric sound that knows exactly how to perturb us with its stretches of unsettling quietude and eschewal of melody and rhythm. The heat causes the car’s plastic interior parts to off-gas their phthalate content, which the car’s occupants then inhale. Plastic China follows the lives of two workshop families: Pen and his daughter Yi Jie, who grows up playing in sprawling hills of plastic waste without an education; and their boss. And the film’s parting image is of Boote’s grandfather’s grave. Endocrine biologist Scott Belcher explains that by mimicking estrogen, bisphenol A can interfere with brain development and functioning. The filmmaker also has his blood drawn and analyzed to find out how much of the estrogenic, endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A his body has absorbed. But I thought about it, and I decided that instead of being afraid, I would do something. A real dilemma.”. Produced by Thomas Bogner and Daniel Zuta A Boca Raton man is warning the public about the dangers of plastic through his documentaries. What at first began as … Boote points out that the plastic detritus already flooding the biosphere will take at least 500 years to break down, and thus even if henceforth we were to use only harmless plastic, we would still need to contend with vast quantities of traditional, toxic plastic in our environment for centuries to come. Boote admits to being seduced by plastic’s magical chameleon-like nature. He shows me all the wonderful cars, motorbikes and rockets. In celebration of Earth Day 2018 and this year’s focus on ending A riveting 2019 documentary by the German public broadcaster DW, “Plastic Tide: Choking on Coke,” exposes how Coca-Cola deceives customers and environmentalists about its plastic pollution. Executive produced by Tom Gläser and Ilann Girard We are dedicated to ending plastic pollution and fostering sustainable communities worldwide. Moreover, you need not even have lived someplace where plastic is widely used: Research has shown that everyone, even those in traditional indigenous societies, has plastic in the blood. The series not only takes the viewers on a journey around the world’s marine ecosystems, but also shows humanity’s impact even at the very bottom of the ocean. Chemist Peter Lieberzeit describes the process of creating plastic as “Lego for grown-ups,” with hydrocarbon molecules standing in for the toy blocks. At one point he’s making his way through a trade show, ready for a big confrontation with a prominent plastic industry leader, when he sees a sleek, shiny hot rod with an all-plastic body. (Sadly, Sagae himself passed away just a couple of months ago from cancer at 52.) Boote makes a point of smelling the various types of plastic he encounters, and he admits to becoming “stoned” off the scent of one of them. We later see him slapping stickers with similar messages onto plastic bottles in a supermarket. Prior to 2018, China received ten million tons of plastic waste every year from developed countries around the world. Music by The Orb Boote’s antics provide just the comic relief this film needs. Plastic Oceans International is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization, founded and existing under the laws of California (Federal Tax ID #81-3778043). Written and directed by Werner Boote In this independent documentary film, journalist/filmmaker Angela Sun travels on a personal journey of discovery to uncover this mysterious phenomenon. More than eight million tonnes of plastic is thrown away each year and washed out to sea. We don’t yet fully understand the cause of this decline, and Boote is careful not to posit a causal link to plastic exposure (just as he never definitively says that his grandfather’s work in plastic production killed him). A big part of what makes Boote’s portrait of plastic so engrossing is its experiential approach, which seeks not only to impart knowledge but also to engage our senses. The documentary is part of a BBC initiative called Plastics Watch, tracking the impact of plastic on the environment. Boote concedes that for all its adverse environmental and human health impacts, plastic does have advantages over its alternatives. An overview on plastic pollution, narrated by Academy Award winner and PPC Notable Jeff Bridges (4 minutes) STRAWS Film Short documentary about plastic straw waste and how we can make a sea of change...one straw at a time. Whereas some films focus on just one facet of the issue, such as plastic in the ocean, this one surveys the entire picture. In the 70 years that plastic has been around, humans have created 9 billion tons of it -- most of which still exists. FILMMAKER'S STATEMENT: "The reason I decided to make my documentary was because awhile ago, my mom and I were down in California, and we saw all these exhibits about plastic pollution and how it affects the marine environment. Production and Post-Production Grants Application Guidelines, IDFA 2020: Decolonizing the Documentary, Virtually, Essential Doc Reads: Week of November 30, 2020, DOC NYC Goes National with a Cross-country Road Trip, Capitalism: A Comedy: The Yes Men Put a Funny Face on Activism, 'The Age of Stupid' Set for Big Green Premiere: Climate Change Doc Bows in London. And it really scared me! Cinematographed by Thomas Kirschner Bisphenol A and the group of chemicals known as phthalates are among the more harmful compounds found in plastic. Other qualities I admire about Plastic Planet are its uncompromising realism, its finely written narration, its very effective musical score, its droll eccentricity and the way it doubles as a deeply affecting memoir by someone with a long personal history with plastic. Storyline A Plastic Ocean begins when journalist Craig Leeson, searching for the elusive blue whale, discovers plastic waste in what should be pristine ocean. Single-use plastic items account for more than 40 percent of plastic waste that ends up in landfills or natural environment. Curiously, Boote neglects to tell us whether the study’s findings bore out its hypothesis. The litany of bad news they have to deliver is so dire and seemingly interminable that it feels like we’re stuck in a never-ending nightmare. We hear from the daughter of a man who blew the whistle on a PVC plant where 170 employees died of cancer and 377 became seriously ill. We meet Japanese sculptor Hiroshi Sagae, known for the amazingly realistic figurines he handcrafts out of plastic. Death of the Nile: Shocking new documentary reveals how plastic pollution is devastating all 4,000 miles of the world's greatest rivers. Building a world of resilient communities, Over 550 Environmental Groups Rally Around Call for Biden to Act on Plastics Pollution in 2021, Oil Industry’s Shift to Plastics in Question as Report Warns $400 Billion in Stranded Assets Possible, New California Bill Could Revolutionize How the U.S. Friday 20 October 2017 17:01, UK ... Over eight million tonnes of plastic enters the … Frank Kaminski is an ardent reader and reviewer of books related to natural resource depletion, climate change and other issues affecting the fate of industrial civilization. He asserts that plastic production is safe and that there’s a “practically negligible” risk of harm to one’s health from touching plastic—claims that Boote knows to be false (though we don’t see him challenge Lieberzeit). Boote’s goal in making this documentary was to investigate the perils that attend our society’s plastic addiction, and what we can do about them. WELCOME TO CHECHNYA, directed by acclaimed writer and Oscar® nominated director David France, shadows a... © 2020 International Documentary Association. When you put water into plastic containers made with bisphenol A, the chemical leaches into the water, especially upon heating. In A Plastic Ocean, Australian journalist Craig Lesson teamed up with free diver Tanya Streeter, scientists and researchers to uncover the alarming impact of plastic on marine ecosystems around the world. But plastic isn’t fantastic. He implies that they did, however, by way of a scene in which he and a fellow researcher counsel a couple on their results and recommend ways to rid their home of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Additional music composed by Andreas Lucas A pall of death and loss hangs over much of this film. Tackles Plastic Pollution, Oil-backed trade group is lobbying the Trump administration to push plastics across Africa, One Word—Plastics: Why the World Will be Slow to Abandon Natural Gas, Solving the plastic problem: from cradle to grave, to reincarnation, Graphic Novel Review: 10 Billion is a sci-fi tale of astonishing scope and visual imagination, Review: The Crash of Flight 3804 by Charlotte Dennett, Review: The Disappearing Shore by Roberta Park. While Boote repeatedly mentions the time his grandfather spent toiling in a plastics factory, a key takeaway of this film is that you need not have worked in plastics manufacturing to have suffered from exposure to plastic’s harmful chemicals. The film takes us along on Boote’s journey, which turns out to involve just as much inner contemplation as discovery about the ills of plastic usage. Susan Yin is IDA's Communications, Design and Digital Projects Manager. “Will there still be life on our planet then?” muses Boote darkly. Release Date: Sep. 2009 (Austria) This film doesn’t focus on plastics (though there is a link between oil refinement and plastic … Plastic Planet’s soundtrack is another of its high points. A Plastic Ocean (2016), by Craig Leeson, is one of the most recent and shocking documentaries about plastic pollution. This film’s core message seems to be that, in the interest of not worsening our predicament, we should all eliminate plastic from our lives as much as possible. Did we mention the series is scored by Hans Zimmer? Visit The Story of Plastic website to learn more or check out our plastic documentary shorts. 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