German short film about earth’s social media page, Earthbook, premiers in SLC, April 22 at the Tower Theater.
Here’s a perspective changer: What if planet Earth had a Facebook profile? Earthbook, a short film by German filmmakers of Climate Media Factory, delves into planet earth’s personal social media profile as Earth develops its relationship to humans, Earth’s other inhabitants and the universe.
I Skyped with creative director Berndt Hezel all the way from Germany to talk about his short film. “We tried to think about a narration that can catch people who have been communicating digitally their whole lives,” he told me. “First of all, we thought of Facebook. How would planet Earth comment on human?”
Newsfeed: Earth is born! A meteorite pokes Earth and dinosaurs delete their account. From the evolution of man and the Industrial Revolution to the number of endangered species increasing ~ Earth has finally had enough, and messages Mars about how Human is getting on Earth’s nerves. Human can be so inconsiderate!
What might happen if Earth unfriended Human? Earth’s mouse hovers over “Unfriend” after the Industrial Revolution makes Earth feel hot and sick. “It’s made up that Earth is a ‘friend.’ We use Earth’s hospitality without even the invitation to do so. If you go along with this metaphor, Earth is unfriending us in a sense when you look at the areas of climate change,” Hezel tells me. “What I hope is that people change their perspective on things we perceive as normal, which are not. The market, the success of the economy ~ it’s just made up, it’s a choice we’ve made. If we can see the effects are problematic, we should make a different choice.”
Watch the short film along with other films at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival on Tour, hosted by the Summit Land Conservancy for the 7th year, and in Utah for the first time, April 22 in Salt Lake City (Tower Theater) and April 23 in Park City (Prospector Square).