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Surviving Progress

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2011 1 h 26 min
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This feature documentary connects the financial collapse, growing inequity and the Wall Street oligarchy with future technology, sustainability, and the fate of civilization itself. Inspired by Ronald Wright's bestseller A Short History of Progress, Surviving Progress digs deep into human nature and patterns of history to challenge and redefine the very idea of progress.

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Surviving Progress

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This feature documentary connects the financial collapse, growing inequity and the Wall Street oligarchy with future technology, sustainability, and the fate of civilization itself. Inspired by Ronald Wright's bestseller A Short History of Progress, Surviving Progress digs deep into human nature and patterns of history to challenge and redefine the very idea of progress.

Environment and Conservation Film and Video Arts Technology History All subjects
  • interviewee
    Ronald Wright
    Mark Levine
    Robert Wright
    Marina Silva
    Kambale Musavuli
    Vaclav Smil
    Colin Beavan
    Michael Hudson
    Jane Goodall
    Chen Ming
    Chen Changnian
    Craig Venter
    Raquel Taitson-Queiroz
    Gary Marcus
    Daniel Povinelli
    Victor Gau
    Margaret Atwood
    Simon Johnson
    Enio Beata
    David Suzuki
    Jim Thomas
  • voice
    Stephen Hawking
  • appearance
    Michael Shellenberger
    Ted Nordhaus
    Philip Fearnside
    Francisco Santos Olivera
    Adelson Jose De Santana
    Marcelo Gusmao
    Marcelo V. Gusmao
    Ana Maria Gusmao
    Ana Flavia Gusmao
    Joel Bellenson
    Guo Yunzhe
    Sing Lui
    Zhang Ning
    Yang Shi Min
    James Reaux
    Fabio Rodrigo Cavenaghi
  • camera assistant
    Dany Racine
  • production coordinator
    Sofie Handfield
    Rachel Punwassie
    Sarah Arruda
  • production assistant
    Alessandro Gallizzi
    Julien Chayer-Veillette
  • production accountant
    Dominique Dupuis
    Sylvie Laurin
    Hélène Grimard
  • research
    Nancy Marcotte
    Li Li
  • fixer
    Nancy Marcotte
    Li Li
  • production manager
    Daniel Caldeira
  • driver
    Eduardo Decio Augusto
    Antonio Navarro Ribeiro
    Aguinaldo Tomaz Afonso
  • crew transportation
    B.A.S.E. Transportadora
  • security
    Vagner Da Silva Afonso
  • production services
    Antonio Venturi Neto
  • translator
    Nancy Marcotte
    Sarah Arruda
    Li Li
    Yu Li
  • project manager
    Xiao Cheng
    Viviane Adam
  • assistant editor
    Michael Ramsey
  • post-production coordinator
    Daniel Lord
  • second assistant editor
    Véronique Chaput
  • consulting editor
    Caroline Christie
  • transcripts
    Hélène Laporte-Rawji
    Dyane Provost
  • re-recording studio
    Modulations Inc.
  • assistant re-recording mixer
    Vincent Riendeau
  • dialogue editor
    Guy Pelletier
  • foley artist
    Maxime Potvin
  • foley recordist
    Jo Caron
  • technical supervisor
    Jean-Philippe Savard
  • coordinator
    Marie-Lou Morin
    Jean-Philippe Savard
    Ariane Charette
  • Dolby sound consultant
    David Berti
  • laboratory post-production
    Vision Globale
  • project coordinator
    Thibaud Galbois
  • colour correction
    Patrice Fortin
  • digital post production
    National Film Board of Canada
  • online editor
    Denis Pilon
  • music licensing
    Viviane Adam
    Ariane Charette
  • music contribution
    Patrick Watson
    Michael Ramsey
  • archive researcher
    Nancy Marcotte
  • executive director
    Martin Desroches
  • assistant to the producer
    Virginie Laliberté
  • accounting
    Dominique Dupuis
  • receptionist
    Claudia Manzur
  • accountant
    Sherrill Sirrs
  • legal
    Heather Mitchell
  • centre administrator
    Josiah Rothenberg
  • technical coordinator
    Marcus Matyas
  • post-production supervisor
    Mark Wilson
  • director
    Mathieu Roy
    Harold Crooks
  • screenplay
    Mathieu Roy
    Harold Crooks
  • executive producer
    Martin Scorsese
    Emma Tillinger Koskoff
    Mark Achbar
    Betsy Carson
    Silva Basmajian
  • producer
    Gerry Flahive
    Daniel Louis
    Denise Robert

Education

Ages 15 to 17
Study Guide
Guide 1
School subjects
History and Citizenship Education - Issues in Society Today Social Studies - Comparative Civilizations Social Studies - Development/Global Issues Technology Education - Society and Technology
Have the class generate their own definitions of “progress” and then discuss possible methods of evaluating whether specific progress is positive or negative in nature. Have students interview their parents or grandparents about the progress they have witnessed in their lifetimes. Using Google Earth or similar technology, have students locate visible signs of humankind’s impact on the environment. Assign students to research specific technologies and judge their influence as positive or negative.
Surviving Progress
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Home licence (worldwide); Classroom licence (Canada only)

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