So, when the pandemic ended officially – well, sort of….well, it is really?….well, are you sure?….what was your key priority? Did you feel that you could survive? Were you grateful to grab that much needed pint? Did you make sure that you didn’t really have the need for a mask or a sanitiser in your inside or outside pocket?
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Well, if anything we are probably no further along than we were before it all began, as in some ways we have forgotten on occasion as we sit with our friends, watch in communal experiences in the form of concerts, films, theatre and sports competitions like the Premier League, La Liga, Six Nations or the World Cup that we were at a near-catastrophic destruction of our own humanity.Â
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Well, have faith because writer/director Ben Knight‘s new documentary WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE attempts to refocus the need for a willingness to survive at that key moment when it all seems to be coming down in a major crash. Knight also takes front and centre in the heart of his own factual exploration as he also attempts to find kindred and like-minded spirits who can perhaps give him comfort and guidance if the worst was to happen again.Â
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Along his journey, he encounters a group of contrasting individuals. There’s Reiner Glaser who seems to have prepared to all manner of contingencies and doesn’t mince words about what could happen to us if there was a blackout. There’s Jem Bendell, a climate change activist who was front and centre during some of the disruptive demonstrations that shut down London’s West End through Extinction Rebellion and others who show Ben the possibilities of surviving his own personal HUNGER GAMES.
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As with Al Gore‘s acclaimed AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE attempts to contextualise the cause and effect of the environment against human desire to evolve and move forward – and this could be one of the documentary’s flaws given that we seem to have been bombarded recently with environmental awareness coupled with negativity (shown in most cases by motorists and ambulance workers incensed by what eco-warriors are doing in practical denial.Â
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The harsh effect and reality of the global shutdown brought on by COVID also claimed victims on a number of levels, both mental and physical, whilst Governments across the world could only sit back helpless as the virus took hold.
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Ultimately, as creatures of habit, maybe our best course of action is to be grateful and celebrate being alive – even if the world seems destined and determined to come crashing down climate-wise. Embrace the feeling at the heart of Ben Knight’s film, but also remember that hearts are individual, as well as the choices and possibilities that remain as we live out our respective mortality.
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WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE plays as part of the Berlin Independent Film Festival 2024. For more on the Festival, please go to:
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