Based on Margaret Atwood’s bestselling book Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth, Jennifer Baichwal’s feature documentary PAYBACK (2011, Canada, 85’) offers a fascinating look at debt as a mental construct and traces how it influences relationships, societies, governing structures and even the fate of the planet. The film explores the link between debtor and creditor in a variety of contexts and places—from the mountains of northern Albania to the tomato fields of southern Florida—blending compelling stories of “owing” and “being owed” with the views of renowned figures like Karen Armstrong, Louise Arbour, William Rees and Raj Patel. Stories and insights are woven together by the prescient and acute observations of Atwood herself, who demonstrates both that the concept of debt lies at the very core of human experience, and that, because it is a concept, how we think about it changes how it works.cinemapolitica.org/film/payback

Debt: Our Commons Problem documentary film series

From mortgages to payday loans to student debt to moral obligations, how does debt shape our lives and our society? And how can we overcome it? Join us for provocative films, followed by moderated discussion. A collaboration between The Radical Imagination Project and the Cinema Politica Network and the Halifax Public Libraries.

More information:www.cinemapolitica.org/radicalimagination

All screenings are held at the new Central Branch of the Halifax Public Library at 7pm and are free and open to the public.

Schedule

January 12, 7pm – Debt Trap (2008) and In the Red (2014)

http://www.facebook.com/events/903226556374309

January 26, 7pm – Life and Debt (2001)

http://www.facebook.com/events/754502737954247

February 9, 7pm – Payback (2011)

http://www.facebook.com/events/1581185015435042

February 23, 7pm – Living Without Money (2011)

http://www.facebook.com/events/301756440032409