As the plastic pollution crisis has become an international scandal, the biggest consumer goods brands on earth have declared they have a solution: recycling. But our plastic packaging is still more likely to end up being burned or dumped than recycled. We show how the oil, packaging and consumer goods industries spin the recycling fairytale to allow them to continue polluting without consequence. As we all pick up the bill for a world drowning in plastic, the film asks: who is getting rich?

AWARDS
Best Film, Green Report – Green Screen Festival, German Sustainability Awards – Naturvision Film Festival, 3. Place – Otto Brenner Award, Best Report – Green Film Fest Krakow, Best Film European Films Category – Ekofilm Brno, Best Environmental Film – Science Film Festival Bangkok, Special Recommendation TV Current Affairs – Prix Europa, Special Recommendation Ethical and Sustainable Relationship with Nature – UNESCO Media Awards, Special Mention Youth Jury – Eco Film Tour Potsdam, Special Mention Environmental Film Category – Life after Oil, Nominated for Japan Prize, Nominated for Herbert Quandt Media Award, Nominated for Science Film Award Oberhausen

FESTIVALS
Darßer NaturfilmFestival, Wild & Scenic Film Fest, United Nations Film Festival Stanford, Festival du Film Vert, FIFDH Impact Day, Eco Film Fest Vietnam, Innsbrucker Naturfilmfest, Blue Planet Future Festival South Korea, All Living Things Environmental Film Festival India

PRODUCED BY
a&o buero

IN CO-PRODUCTION WITH
ARD, THE WHY FOUNDATION, BBC WORLD, CBC, DR, NHK, NRK, SVT, SRG

SUPPORTED BY
European Broadcasting Union Content Fund, DANIDA The Rogovy Foundation

THANKS TO
Ecoton Indonesien ADD: Zero Waste Europe

COMMISSIONING EDITORS
Mary Wilkinson (BBC WORLD), Sandra Kleinfeld (CBC), Anders Thomsen (DR), Kinu Miyano and Natsu Kawakami (NHK), Carina Bordewich (NRK), Axel Arnö & Asta Dalman (SVT)

PART OF THE WHY PLASTIC? SERIES

DIRECTORS
Tom Costello und Benedict Wermter

CONCEPT
Carsten Stormer

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Mette Hoffmann Meyer

PRODUCER
Tristan Chytroschek

EDITORS
Carlotta Kittel (BFS), Rune Schweitzer (BFS)

D.O.P.
Philipp Meise, Johannes Praus (BVK)

ADDITIONAL CAMERA AND SOUND
Yetha, Remco Bikkers, Oliver Richardt, Christoph Lerch, Martin Gasch, Tom Haesen, Francis Boyter. Pertemuanta Tarigan, Ikbal Wahyudin, Tony Leonardo, Max Penzel, Shahrin Shukor

NARRATOR
Alice Sykes

FIELD PRODUCERS AND RESEARCH
Kajsa Rosenblad, Jacqueline Goebel, Ilja Willems, Devianti Faridz, Gökçe Saraçoğlu, David Djambazov, Frank Brunner, Hanna Gieffers, Francesca Schweiger, Christoph Renger

ORIGINAL MUSIC
Nils Kacirek

GRAPHIC DESIGN
KIM&HIM

SOUND DESIGN
Paul Timmich and Roman Vehlken

COLORGRADING
André Froelian

POST PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
Hannes Ziegerhofer (BFS)

ASSISTANT EDITORS
Luciana Mannucci (BFS), Maximilian Martens (BFS)

PRODUCTION MANAGER
Alexandra Obradovic

LEGAL ADVICE
GRAEF Rechtsanwälte

TRANSLATIONS
Rahmat Kurniawan
Gökçe Saraçoğlu
David Djambazov

ARCHIVE RESEARCH
Bianca Döring, Finder’s Reward

ARCHIVE
WDR, NDR, BR, RBB, ORF, AP, Getty Images, Screenocean, INA, Parliament of the European Union, Deutsches Parlamentsfernsehen

DURATION
52 mins

YEAR
2021