Graduate Environmental Program

Dear climate-concerned friends,

We are writing to invite you and a colleague to a private screening of the the film, The Age of Stupid, starring Oscar nominated actor Pete Postlethwaite, on Wednesday 11th March at 7pm at the Victorian Trades Hall, cnr Victoria & Lygon Streets, Carlton South (cost: gold coin donation at the door). The screening will be followed by an animated and lively discussion session!

This is a chance for you to see the film George Monbiot picked as “the one thing we’ll be talking about in 2009″, calling it “a captivating and constantly surprising film: the first successful dramatisation of climate change” (for more about the film go to: http://www.ageofstupid.net/)

‘The Age of Stupid’ features Pete Postlethwaite (Brassed Off, The Usual Suspects) as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking back at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?

Directed by McLibel-filmmaker Franny Armstrong and produced by Oscar-winning John Battsek (One Day In September) ‘The Age of Stupid’ will be released in March 2009 across the UK, and then around the world, with the Australian launch planned for June / July. Alongside the movie, we will be launching the “Not Stupid” action campaign, which aims to turn 250 million viewers into virtual or physical activists, all focussing on Copenhagen.

This is where you come in. The producers are already working with over 100 NGOs in the UK to get all of their members to see the film and then take radical action before Copenhagen. This is the model they’d like to replicate in Australia. They’re particularly keen to have a big impact in Australia because of its large per capita carbon footprint and the success of our McLibel film here which convinced us Australia can play a key role.

The Australian government’s announcement of an emissions reduction of only 5% by 2020 is a sign that there is plenty more work to be done, and the people of Australia can play a huge role in impacting such decisions. The opportunities for action already exist and we hope that ‘The Age of Stupid’ can help to involve thousands of ordinary people with the work that your organisation is already doing on climate change, which is why we are inviting you to this screening.

NGOs and community-based climate action groups also have the opportunity to feature on the film’s online database, which will enable anyone who has seen the film to find organisations in their area that they can support and get involved with. Finally, Spanner Films will be handing out DVDs of promotional materials at the screening (pictures, videos, interview with Pete Postlethwaite etc), which you will be free to use in your magazines, websites or however you like.

We will also have an open brainstorming session after the film, where we can all think through how best to make use of this cross-fertilising opportunity. Please bring ideas with you!

If you would like to attend, please RSVP with the names of your representatives to jac.buckingham@wilderness.org.au with “The Age of Stupid” in the subject line. (nb The previous limit on two people per organisation has been lifted, so climate action groups can send as many as they like!)

Look forward to seeing you there!

Nina Hall (Climate Action Network Australia)
(on behalf of Lizzie Gillett, Producer, Age of Stupid)