Population Boom
A well-known nightmarish vision of the future: The Earth’s population reaches seven billion. Dwindling resources, mountains of toxic waste, hunger and climate change—the results of overpopulation? Who says that the world’s overpopulated? And who’s one too many?
After the box-office success of “Plastic Planet,” in POPULATION BOOM curious documentary filmmaker Werner Boote travels the globe and examines a stubborn view of the world that has existed for decades. But he sees a completely different question: Who or what is driving this catastrophic vision?
90 minutes documentary feature (2013) - theatrical release: Austria sept. 2013
international premiere: Copenhagen CPH:DOX nov. 2013
Winner "GREEN ME AWARD" Berlin feb. 2014
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“Powerful!” - Tagesspiegel
“An important film." - NDR Kulturjournal
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Werner Boote in the middle of the crowd on a train in Dhaka, Bangladesh
TRAILER
English trailer (english)
title song
German trailers: trailer , trailer 1 , trailer 2
PRODUCTION INFO
Filmsales: Autlook
Production company: NGF Geyrhalter Filmproduktion
Distributor USA: First Run Features
Filming locations: Japan, USA, Finland, Austria, Bangladesh, China, Kenya, Italy, India, Mexico
DVD RELEASE BY FIRST RUN FEATURES: April 2015
90 minutes, documentary, color, 2013
In English, German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Hindi w/ English subtitles
DVD packaged in certified Green Forestry eco pack
How many people are too many? And who is one too many? Is this even the right question to ask? One thing is certain: 25 years ago there were five billion of us. Today, there are seven. Dwindling resources, mountains of toxic waste, hunger and climate change - the results of overpopulation?
In Population Boom, acclaimed director Werner Boote (Plastic Planet) traverses the globe armed with a World Bank umbrella to examine the myths and facts about overpopulation. Like a contemporary Socrates with a wry sense of humor, Boote questions the conventional wisdom. From Kenya's slums to Dhaka in Bangladesh to New York City, China, Japan and elsewhere, Boote speaks with everyone from demographic researchers to environmental activists, and comes to a surprising conclusion. It is not overpopulation that threatens humanity´s existence.Rather, it is the developed world´s patterns of over-consumption and constant pursuit of immediate profit that looms over our future.
Is overpopulation a myth with the sole purpose of covering up larger and far more important problems, and making the world's population the scapegoat of a far more complex game? "It is not about how many of us there are, but about how we treat each other," Boote recognizes. Population Boom starts with this as the basis for a debate, and becomes a cinematic journey with the masses between myth, facts and politics.
DVD - SHOP
Werner Boote and Massai-Warrior Francis Kamakia, Serengeti
FESTIVALS
CPH:DOX Copenhagen, Nov. 2013, Nomination FACT:AWARD
AARHUS, Filmfestival, Nov. 2013
Max Ophüls Preis, Saarbrücken, Jan. 2014
Green Me Film Festival Berlin, Feb. 2014, Winner of the GREEN ME AWARD for "Best Documentary"
Eco Focus Film Festival, USA, March 2014
Cosmic Cine Filmfestival, Switzerland&Germany, April 2014 Nominated for Cosmic Angel Award
Cinema Planeta, Cuernavaca, Mexico, April 2014
Cluj-Napoca, Transilvania International Film Festival, May 2014
Cinemambiente Filmfestival Turin, Italien, June 2014 - Nominated for "Best International Documentary"
Green Film Fest Buenos Aires, Agentina, 2014
Ecocup Film Festival Moskau, Russland 2015
Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
REVIEWS
You'd expect this doc to be a dark treatise on our species' impending doom due to overpopulation -- except that the filmmaker here is Werner Boote of ''Plastic Planet'' fame, and what he finds is quite startling. - Videotapeworm
Boote is a rather refreshing director, because you may very well think about the likes of a Michael Moore or a Morgan Spurlock while you're watching his film you'll also realize that Boote avoids histrionics and doesn't cheapen his fact-finding by going excessive on the entertainment route. Instead, he takes what could be difficult material and he makes it accessible and entertaining enough to drive the point home. (The Independent Critic)
With intelligence and wit, Boote once again takes a global issue and makes it a personal one.
Until now you will find more information about the film on the german page.
Sanja Matsuri Festival, Tokyo, Japan
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RELEASE IN EUROPE
Film poster in Austria, Germany and Switzerland
Read an Interview with Werner Boote (german) about Population Boom
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Mexico City
EDUCATIONAL
website film , schools
Farida Akhter (UBINIG) and Werner Boote
INTERVIEWEES
Lots of great talking heads, from Nobel laureates to John Lennon to politicians!
BABATUNDE OSOTIMEHIN, Executive Director UNFPA
(United Nations Population Fund)
ENRIQUE MENDOZA MORALES, Lawyer
(Mexicos Representative at the Population Conference in Bukarest)
OBADIAS NDABA, Director World Youth Alliance Africa
BETSY HARTMANN, Hampshire College (Population and Development Program)
WOLFGANG LUTZ, Demographer, IIASA
HU HONGTAO, Director General
(National Population & Family Planning Commission of China)
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THE SO-CALLED WINDOWSHOTS
Coincidentally cameraman Dominik Spritzendorfer has been shooting the first of this row in New York during the halloween parade. Because Werner Boote liked the shot "Lady with a cat" so much they decided to look for similar images in every country. The location managers always needed to get the permission from the people in the shot. In Japan they even needed to find the legal guardian of this old man. In Mexico City the filmcrew could not find an appropriate image from the "Torre Latinoamericano" for three evenings. That´s why there is no windowshot from Mexico in the film.
Windowshot New York, USA - Lady with a cat
Windowshot Tokyo, Japan - old man eating sushi
Windowshot Nairobi, Kenya - kissing couple
Windowshot Beijing, China - man argues with youngster
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Biswa Ijtema, muslim world congregation, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Werner Boote in Beijing, China
Werner Boote in Vienna, Austria
CREDITS
- written and directed by: Werner Boote
- edited by: Emily Artmann
- photography by: Dominik Spritzendorfer
- 2nd camera: Mario Hötschl
- sound: Andreas Hamza
- original score by: Karwan Marouf
- assistent director: Linda Hambrusch
- 2nd assistent director & head of research: Myriam Loukili
- filming locations: Bangladesh, China, Finland, India, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Austria, USA
- research: Anna-Katharina Wohlgenannt
- production office manager: Barbara Kern
- production assistent: Daniela Patz, Katharina Posch, Claudia Wohlgenannt
- production manager: Michael Meisterhofer
- executive producer: Markus Glaser
- producers: Markus Glaser, Wolfgang Widerhofer, Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Michael Kitzberger
- production company: NGF Geyrhalter Filmproduktion Wien
