The Upside of Down, w/ Author Thomas Homer-Dixon: BookShorts Film January 14, 2010 / / Films
September 11 Won’t be the Last Time We Walk Out of Our Cities – The Upside of Down is a stunning animated flight through a maze of ominous plinths, opening this BookShort docu-drama based on Thomas Homer-Dixon’s book of the same name. The Upside of Down captures the urgency of our headlong rush into global crisis, flashing through poignant film clips of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, referencing epidemics of disease and wars fought over finite energy resources, crystallizing the need for thinking with a “prospective mind.” Then, in a brilliantly rendered and surprising transformation, what initially seemed a dire journey becomes a perfect film interpretation of Homer-Dixon’s ultimate message of hope, renewal and survival in a future full of surprises.
The BookShort was adapted for the screen by philosopher and long-time Homer-Dixon fan Michael McGarry; directed by Gary Thomas; animated by Crush, scored by Martin Worthy, produced by Judith Keenan and Stephanie Pennington. Book released by Knopf Canada and Island Press US.
