The plastic bag as cultural monument. The Municipal Archive of Passau, Germany has collected thousands of plastic bags that document the transition of the culture and the Zeitgeist since the 1950s. Now, in more than 20 countries, the use of plastic bags is subject to strict regulations and even fines. Three films impressively demonstrate why this is so. A wind tunnel in which a vast assortment of plastic bags elegantly and nimbly make their final rounds before the recycling process resurrects their lifecycle.

In a not too distant future, a Plastic Bag goes on an epic journey in search of its lost maker, wondering if there is any point to life without her. The bag encounters strange creatures, brief love in the sky, a colony of prophetic torn bags on a fence and the unknown. In the end, the plastic bag wafts its way to the ocean, into the tides, and out into 500 nautical miles of spinning garbage known as the Pacific Ocean Trash Vortex – a promised nirvana where it will settle among its own kind and gradually let the memories of its maker slip away.

Credits:
Music by Kjartan Sveinsson of the band Sigur Rós
Voice by film director Werner Herzog

2.9. – 7.9.

“Plastic Planet – Once you have seen this film, you will never again drink from a plastic bottle.”

Plastic is cheap and practical. We are children of the Plastic Age. Plastics in the soil or water take up to 500 years to break down. The exotic additives they contain damage our endocrine system. Were you aware of the fact that you have plastic in your blood? Director Werner Boote’s investigative documentary film shows that plastic has become a global threat. He raises issues that every one of us has to confront: Why don’t we change our behavior as consumers? Why doesn’t the private sector react to the dangers? Who is responsible for the mountains of garbage in the world’s deserts and seas? Who are the winners here? And who are the losers?

This film can be purchased from September 2010 on.

http://www.plastic-planet.at

Credits
Drehkonzept: Werner Boote
Regie: Werner Boote
Kamera: Thomas Kirschner, Dominik Spritzendorfer
Schnitt: Ilana Goldschmidt, Cordula Werner, Tom Pohanka
Ton: Jens Ludwig, Erik Hoeman, Ekkehart Baumung
Musik: The Orb
Produzent: Thomas Bogner, Daniel Zuta
Produktionsleitung: Florian Brandt
Förderung: Filminstitut, Deutscher Filmförderfonds , Investitionsbank Hessen
Fernsehbeteiligung: ORF (Film/Fernseh-Abkommen)
Verleih: ThimFilm

Film, 85min Documentary

For better and for worse, no ecosystem or segment of human activity has escaped the shrink-wrapped grasp of plastic. For more than 15 years, award-winning filmmaker Ian Connacher has been documenting solutions to environmental issues. His latest documentary is a global journey to investigate what we really know about the material of a thousand uses and why there’s so darn much of it. On the way we discover a toxic legacy, and the men and women dedicated to cleaning it up.

Credits:

Produced and Directed by Ian Connacher (CA)

Pictures – Cryptic Moth Productions Inc.

Music – Oliver Johnson – The Hive

Edited By Martyn Iannece, Gad Reichman, Kevin Rollins