The Divide

18th February 2016

The Divide will be in UK cinemas from 22nd April.

A film seeking to expose the effect of the ever growing increase in inequality in the world. Directed by Katharine Round (The Citizens Network, London Recruits) and Executive Produced by Christopher Hird, MD of Dartmouth Films, The Divide is inspired by the critically-acclaimed, best-selling book “The Spirit Level” by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.

The Divide tells the story of 7 individuals striving for a better life in modern day USA and UK – where the top 0.1% owns as much wealth as the bottom 90%. By plotting these tales together, we uncover how virtually every aspect of our lives is controlled by one factor: the size of the gap between rich and poor.

In a world where the CEO of Walmart earns 1,000 times the average income of his sales assistants, this documentary urges the reader to take a stand against the ego-driven economy which puts profit ahead of principles. This isn’t based on real life, this is real life.

Featured in The Divide: Wall Street psychologist Alden wants to make it to the top 1%; Glaswegian rapper Darren just wants to stay sober; Newcastle carer Rochelle wishes her job wasn’t looked down on so much; Jen in Sacramento, California, doesn’t even talk to the neighbours in her upscale gated community – they’ve made it clear to her she isn’t “their kind”. It becomes clear that a higher income doesn’t ensure happiness and inequality hurts us all – rich and poor.

The Divide also features high profile commentators including former economic adviser to Margaret Thatcher, Sir Alan Budd, historian Sir Max Hastings, economist Ha-Joon Chang, Noam Chomsky and epidemiologist Sir Michael Marmot.

By weaving these stories with news archive from 1979 to the present day, The Divide creates a lyrical, psychological and tragi-comic picture of how economic division creates social division. This deeply troubling documentary serves as both a call to arms, and a powerful warning.

Director Katharine Round said: “When it comes to income and wealth inequality we are confronted with shocking statistics on a regular basis, but yet it seems we still we aren’t connected to what they really mean. The Divide has a simple premise: 7 people at different positions in the income spectrum across the USA and UK, their intertwining stories revealing how every aspect of their lives are affected by gross income inequality. There is no data in The Divide. There is no voice telling us what to think or what to do. The Divide is about seeing, and feeling, how very personal psychological levers are pulled in all of us by the dramatic shifts of income and wealth occurring under our noses.”

Executive Producer Christopher Hird said: “With opinion polls showing that over 80% of the population think that inequality is an important issue, Katharine Round’s film could not be more timely. Without graphs and without didactic narration, the film shows the social, economic and psychological realities of living in an unequal world.“

THE DIVIDE is in UK cinemas from 22 April 2016 www.thedividedocumentary.com

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