Plastic Planet

a documentary by Werner Boote (2009, 93 min)

We are living in the Age of Plastic. 

It´s cheap and practical, and it’s everywhere – even in our blood. But is it a danger to us? 

This feisty, informative documentary takes us on a journey around the globe - from the Moroccan Sahara to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, from a factory in China to the highest peaks of the Alps - to reveal the far-flung reaches of our plastic problem. 

Interviews with the world’s foremost experts in biology, pharmacology, and genetics shed light on the perils of plastic to our environment and expose the truth of how plastic affects our bodies and the health of future generations. 

"Intelligent, wide-ranging, methodically researched. Plastic Planet is that rare call-to-action documentary that might  rouse viewers to do something." - Variety 

Trailer 

Synopsis 

The plastic industry annually generates hundreds of billions of dollars. Every industrial sector in the world today is dependent on plastic. The amount of plastic we have produced since it was invented would be enough to cover the entire globe six times over. But this inexpensive and convenient substance comes with a hefty price. Plastic stays in the ground and water system for up to 500 years. It is found on every beach in the world. Numerous studies have proven that the chemicals it releases (such as Bisphenol A) migrate into the human body and may contribute to or cause grave health problems, from allergies to obesity to infertility, cancer and heart disease. 

For Austrian director Werner Boote, plastic is personal. His grandfather was one of the early manufacturers of plastic and he introduced Boote at a young age to the magic substance that would change the world. Many years later, after reading about the global threat posed by plastic, he decides to embark on a quest to discover the truth about this pervasive substance. Traveling to fourteen countries, he boldly and humorously confronts manufacturers, scientists, government officials and consumers to ask questions that concern all of us: Why don’t we change our consumption behavior?  Why is the industry not reacting to apparent dangers? Who is held accountable for hills of garbage mounting in deserts and seas?   Who wins in this game?  And who loses?

Interspersing animated sequences and old commercials, this eye-opening film reveals how the world has wholeheartedly embraced the convenience of a substance it knows nothing about.

Photos

Festivals 

SAARBRÜCKEN (Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis) • RIO DE JANEIRO (International Film Festival) • BERLINALE (Green Me Lounge) • KOPENHAGEN (CPH:DOX - international documentary film festival) • TEHERAN (Fajr International Film Festival) • AARHUS (Filmfestival) • VICTORIA (Film Festival) • KÖLN, BOCHUM, MÜNSTER ("Stranger Than Fiction" Dokumentarfilmfest) • OSLO ("Eurodok" European Documentary Film Festival) • TURNHOUT (Filmfestival "Open Doek") • LEUVEN ("Docville" International Documentary Festival) • ITINÉRANCES (Festival Cinéma d´Alès) • TURIN (CinemAmbiente - International Environmental Film Festival) • PALIC (European Film Festival) • WIESBADEN (Atlantis Natur- und Umweltfilmfestival) • TIGRE (Festival Internacional de Cine Ambiental) • LEEDS (International Film Festival) • PARIS (Festival International du Film d'Environnement) • ABU DHABI (Middle East International Film Festival) • WARSCHAU (Film Festival) • MAR DEL PLATA (International Film Festival) • SEVILLA (Festival de Cine Europeo) • HOF (Internationale Filmtage) • NEUSTRELITZ (Nature Film Festival) - Audience Award • SPECIAL SCREENING at the Climate Change Conference Cancun, Mexico 2010

Credits 

Written & Directed by Werner Boote • Producers: Thomas Bogner, Daniel Zuta • Executive Producers: Tom Gläser, Ilann Girard • Camera: Thomas Kirschner • Editors: Ilana Goldschmidt, Cordula Werner, Tom Pohanka • Music: The Orb • Research• Werner Boote, Katharina List, Florian Brandt, Doris Lippitsch, Elisabeth Krimbacher, Henning Kröger, Ursina Angel, Julia Irene Peters, Elisabeth Kanettis, Silvia Vollmeier, Marie Therese Zumtobel, Wibke Giese, Lucia Jakubickova, Daniela Ramusch, Maria Senn • Scientific Consultants: Klaus Rhomberg, Werner Müller , Axel Singhofen , Hans Werner Mackwitz, Andreas Schmidt, Kurt Scheidl • Interviewees: John Taylor, Peter Lieberzeit, Marques Brown, Othman Ilyassa, Klaus Rhomberg, Beatrice Bortolozzo, Felice Casson, Juergen Artner, Frederic Corbin, Robin Tharaldson, Hermann Bicherl, Vicky Zhang, Theo Colborn, Kurt Scheidl, Rupsha Raghuram, Charles Moore, Susan Jobling, Scott Belcher, Patricia Hunt, Gunther von Hagens, Badru Okidi, Hiroshi Sagae, Jeff Harris, Fred vom Saal, Craig Halgreen, Guido Brosius, Stefano Facco, Catia Bastioli, Ray Hammond, Margot Wallstrom, Elfriede Boote • Scientific Support Umweltbundesamt Wien, WHO, Greenpeace International, Friends of the Earth, Global 2000, Algalita Marine Research Foundation, AMAP, Norwegian Polar Institute, Shanna Swan, Institut für Lebensmitteluntersuchung Linz, Ökotest, Jörg Oehlmann, AK Wien, WKO/Statistik Austria, Verein für Konsumenteninformation, Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung, Stiftung Warentest, CEFIC , Center for Health, Environment and Justice N.Y., European Chemicals Bureau, REACH • Animator: Peter Höhsl • Storyboard: Zhivko Zheliazkov • Graphic Design: Sebastian Brauneis • produced by: NSF Austria • With support of: ORF, Österreichisches Filminstitut, Deutscher Filmförderungsfonds, Hessen Filminvest 

Contact

Questions about the film: The Party Sales.