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Surviving Progress

{{Infobox film

| name = Surviving Progress

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| director = Mathieu Roy,
Harold Crooks (co-director)

| producer = Daniel Louis. Denise Robert, Gerry Flahive

| writer = Harold Crooks, Mathieu Roy

| based_on = {{based on|A Short History of Progress|Ronald Wright}}

| music =

| cinematography =

| editing =

| studio =

| distributor = First Run Features (US)

| released = {{Film date|2011|9|11|2011 TIFF|ref1=|2012|4|6|New York City|ref2=}}

| runtime = 86 minutes

| country = Canada

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Surviving Progress is a 2011 Canadian documentary film written and directed by Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks, loosely based on A Short History of Progress, a book and a 2004 Massey Lecture series by Ronald Wright about societal collapse. The film was produced by Daniel Louis, Denise Robert, and Gerry Flahive.

Subject matter

The film is structured as a series of interviews, interspersed with footage from all over the world. The film is said to be "inspired by" Wright's lectures:{{cite web| url= http://firstrunfeatures.com/newsletter/Publicity/survivingprogress.html| title= First Run Features Announces U.S. Theatrical Premiere of an Epic Documentary by Mathieu Roy & Harold Crooks| work= Press release | publisher= First Run Features | access-date=2013-02-09}} Unlike the book, which focused on ancient civilizations, the film focuses on the present-day impact of civilization, including the impact of concentrated wealth.{{cite podcast |url= http://www.extraenvironmentalist.com/2012/05/27/episode-41-surviving-progress/ |title=Episode 41 Surviving Progress |host=The Extraenvironmentalist |date=2012-05-27| access-date=2013-02-09}} The underlying message here is that current models and strategies of economic growth have no practical connections with the real world. That is to say, the lack of an ethical underpinning in modern global economic practices is directly responsible for the overconsumption and exploitation of natural resources to the extent that the increasingly more probable future population collapse would take modern society right along with it.

Interviewees

{{Cast listing|

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Production

The film rights were sold to Cinémaginaire in 2008.{{cite news |first= Marke |last= Andrews |title=Vancouver film production on the money |work=Vancouver Sun |location=Canada |date= 10 April 2008 |page=C.3}} It was directed by Mathieu Roy and co-directed by Harold Crooks with Daniel Louis and Denise Robert as producers for Cinemaginaire and Gerry Flahive as producer for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Executive producers included director Martin Scorsese, Silva Basmajian from NFB, and Big Picture Media Corporation; the latter had produced the 2003 documentary The Corporation.{{cite news |first= Douglas |last= Todd |title=We're evolving, but are we progressing? |work=Vancouver Sun |location=Canada |date= 22 May 2010 |page=C.4}}

Release

The film premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. It was also shown as part of Festival Atmospheres on March 31, 2012, in Paris.

Reception

Calling it a "bone-chilling new documentary", Roger Ebert gave the film 3½ stars out of 4, and called it "bright, entertaining".{{cite web | title= Surviving Progress | first= Roger | last= Ebert | author-link= Roger Ebert | date= May 2, 2012 | url= http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120502/REVIEWS/120509996/0/JOURNAL | publisher= Chicago Sun-Times | access-date= 2013-02-09 | archive-date= 2012-05-18 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120518130845/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20120502%2FREVIEWS%2F120509996%2F0%2FJOURNAL | url-status= dead }} {{rating|3.5|4}} According to Maclean's:{{cite web| title= Surviving Progress—the eco essay as eye candy| first=Brian D.|last= Johnson |date= December 2, 2011 | url= http://www.macleans.ca/2011/12/02/surviving-progress-essay-as-eye-candy/| publisher= Maclean's| access-date=2013-02-09}}

Turning ideas into seductive, irresistible cinema isn't easy, especially if they're the kind of ideas that are good for you....But a fresh genre of populist persuasion has emerged in recent years that's met with remarkable success: the dynamic docu-essay. Some notable examples include The Corporation, {{sic|an likely}} hit that diagnosed capitalism's basic organism as a psychopath; An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's power-point polemic, which put global warming on the map; and Inside Job, a forensic inquiry into Wall Street's 2008 financial meltdown. The popularity of these films (the last two won Oscars) underscores a genuine appetite for global analysis that the fragmented vision of the news media fails to provide....The latest example is Surviving Progress, a Canadian documentary about the increasing weight of the human footprint of the planet. It's a high-level lesson that is enlightening, engrossing and beautiful to look at.

Kenneth Turan calls it "brainy and light on its feet, bristling with provocative insights and probing questions"; according to Turan, "though it features lively editing and a wide variety of involving visuals, Surviving Progress depends for its impact on the intelligence and eloquence of the numerous people interviewed."{{cite web| title= Movie review: A probing look at Earth's chances of Surviving Progress| first= Kenneth |last= Turan| author-link= Kenneth Turan|date= April 20, 2012 | url= https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-apr-20-la-et-surviving-progress-20120420-story.html| work= Los Angeles Times | access-date=2013-02-09}}

On Rotten Tomatoes, 73% of the 37 reviews were positive.{{rotten-tomatoes|id=surviving_progress_2011|title=Surviving Progress}}. {{retrieved|access-date=2022-02-09}}

The film received a Green Cross Italia Special Mention at the CinemAmbiente Environmental Film Festival in Torino, Italy, in June 2012.{{cite web|url=http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/en/our-collection/?idfilm=56941|title=Awards|work=Our Collection|date=11 October 2012 |publisher=National Film Board of Canada|access-date=10 February 2013}}

References

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite web| url= http://firstrunfeatures.com/survivingprogress_press.html | title= Press Room | publisher= First Run Features | access-date=2013-02-09}}

{{cite web| url= http://www.nowtoronto.com/guides/tiff/2011/listing.cfm?listingid=834 | location= Toronto | title= Surviving Progress| publisher= Now | access-date=2013-02-09}}

}}

External links

  • [http://www.nfb.ca/film/surviving-progress Trailer and excerpts for Surviving Progress] at the National Film Board of Canada
  • {{IMDb title|1462014}}

Category:Canadian documentary films

Category:National Film Board of Canada documentaries

Category:Documentary films about technology

Category:Films based on non-fiction books

Category:Documentary films about environmental issues

Category:2011 films

Category:2011 documentary films

Category:2010s English-language films

Category:2010s Canadian films

Category:English-language Canadian films

Category:English-language documentary films