Another documentary from this year’s South By Southwest that had people really talking was the Canadian doc PLASTIC PEOPLE. Both Antonio and myself got to see it (myself ahead of the festival and Antonio went to a screening) and I also had many fest-goers recommend it after seeing the shows while in Austin.
About: Are we becoming Plastic People? Our ground-breaking feature documentary investigates our addiction to plastic and the growing threat of microplastics on human health. Almost every bit of plastic ever made ends up ground down into “microplastics”. These microscopic particles drift in the air, float in the water and sit in the soil. And now, leading scientists are finding them in our bodies: organs, blood, brain tissue and even the placentas of new mothers. What is the impact of these invisible invaders on our health? Ziya Tong, author and science journalist, makes it personal by visiting leading scientists and undergoing experiments in her home, on her food, and on her body.
Jason’s Reaction: I always think about plastic and recycling, especially in just how much of it we use and how much of it just never gets re-used and piles up on this planet. This Canadian produced doc really gets into the entire problem from its origin, but also presents a really great thesis on how it can still play a role in our society and how many people all over the world are trying to live without it. In particlar, it was great to see a sequence in a small Ontario town that has wiped it totally from its town and is now thriving. PLASTIC PEOPLE is also beautifully filmed in a 2:1 aspect ratio which almost gives it an IMAX-like feeling at times. The documentary also reminded me of the movie DARK WATERS which also exposed the Teflon coating toxin making its way into every human being, and would make a great double bill.
Antonio’s Reaction: PLASTIC PEOPLE is one of the most terrifying films I have seen so far 2024. It’s like something out of a Sci horror film from the 60s.
Now imagine this story, A group of corporations in the middle of the 20th century create a substance that will benefit many of our daily needs, but this new substance starts getting out of control, slowly
absorbing the world. It is now in the air, in water, in your food, in the animals and even microscopic
particles inside you. Once the corporations learn about its dangers, they decided they want to increase
this substance even more, just because of the money. Right now, as you’re reading this substance is
coursing through your body. We call this substance plastic.
After watching PLASTIC PEOPLE, it will make you look at the world vastly differently when you realize all
the plastic that surrounds us. The documentary tries to us some hope of ways people around the world
are trying to not use plastic, but I think it’s too late. Plastic people hooked me from the 1 st minute to the
last. At times it looked like watching a murder investigation. When we get to see plastic particles in a
subject’s blood. It is a true-life weird science story.
For more information, point your browser to www.sxsw.com!