ADDICTED TO PLASTIC

What do we really know about plastic? The miraculous material is omnipresent. Modern industrial society depends on it. A world without it is impossible to imagine. It is cheap and easy to handle. It has just one major drawback: plastic waste is not biodegradable and it still cannot be recycled in many countries. Plastic has been produced for about 100 years now. Therefore a big part of it is still stored somewhere on our planet, above all in our oceans, which resemble a plastic soup. Sediments are accumulating in the sea, which end up in our food chain. Ian Connacher travelled for three years, over five continents and twelve countries, to investigate the material’s environmental impact. On his way he picked up various novel ways of tackling the problems that plastic creates: washed out bags are turned into fancy accessories, recycled material is made into functional outdoor clothing and the future is made out of biodegradable plastic. A detailed, informative and inspiring wake-up call.

"For anyone who's wondered what eventually happens to all the plastic in water bottles, packaging, and hundreds of other everyday uses, the feature-length documentary Addicted to Plastic offers a visually compelling, entertaining, ultimately frightening explanation ...Candid interviews, especially a particularly revealing one with a representative of the industry's American Plastics Council, permit viewers to form their own opinions. Connacher's on-screen presence as a curious, energized hipster on a plastic road trip lends immediacy to his narrative and enables him to filter complex information and hypotheses into a manageable form that will provoke viewers without confusing them. All in all, Addicted to Plastic is an absorbing, shocking, only partially reassuring odyssey." Jeffrey L. Meikle, University of Texas, Austin; Author of 'American Plastic: A Cultural History'

Coup de Coeur Award, Festival International du Film d'Environnement Paris 2008; Peoples Favorite Award and Jury selection Award, The Amazonas Film Festival Brazil 2008; 3 Runners Up at Vancouver International Film Festival 2008