The age of stupid was released in 2008 and was subject to controversy from the get go. It was limited to festival and "indie" screenings at like minded organizations and schools.The  movie was also responsible in part for the 10:10 initiative, the campaign to cut emissions 10% by the year 2010 ( which has gone from "cutting by 2010" to "cutting in 2010" )

    It is a film that deals with the climate crisis , focusing on the oil industry and what western civilizations need to destroy the planet has done to the rest of the world. But it also conveys another message. A far more subtle message about human nature, the idea that we are both insignificant and too important in that our needs must be met but when facing up the the idea that it all our fault we are able to shrink, powerless to change anything.
    
   The story is simple: an archivist living in the post-enviropocalypse year 2055 looks back on the major climate events that have lead to the devestation that mainstream scientific projections suggest our world will become and asks "Why didn't we save ourselves when we had the chance?"

   And yet, unlike other films dealing with climate change, "The Age Of Stupid" is not preachy. Director Franny Armstrong (Drowned Out) uses a combination of drama, documentary footage and animation to convey the disasterous direction the planet seems to be heading.

   The premise behind the whole docu-anime-drama is that the aforementioned "Archivist" , played by Peter Posletwaite (The Constant Gardener ), is compiling a message on his Minority Report, Tom Cruise esque computer detailing exactally what went wrong, so that other generations (If there are any) will know what went wrong and what not to do.

   The rate at which he flicks through footage, be it disaster montages, news casts or cartoon interpretations of the "Resource Curse"  is a tad nauseating but it's those quick transitions that force you to pay attention.

   The documentaries were compiled over the course of 3 years and spans multiple continents. the portions of the film that follow people affected by climate change, such as the tour guide of a receding glacier and the Katrina victims, and the people who affect climate change both negatively  and positively are what really stands out. They throw humanity into the mix so the viewer feels something and isn't over burdened with more facts and statistics.

   I'm personally a big fan of this strange drama documentary animation hybrid. It allows for an indepth analysis and presentation of the subject without the obviousness of your classic documentary format, there is no monotoned voice over or stiff interviews with meaningless people to put you to sleep.

   At it's core it is just one another in a long slew of documentaries about climate change, but it is really so much more then that. It is a film with a heartbeat, a soul and the message that we need to do something fast because it is already too late.

    You can "pay-per-view" or download the film at www.ageofstupid.net for a small sum or you can disappoint the polar bears and download the torrent. Join 10:10 to help the cause. And send e-mails here: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to push for Canadian and global distribution.