''Payback'' is a 2012

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

from Jennifer Baichwal based on

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

's '' Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth'', which investigates the concept of debt in societies across the world (and not only on a monetary level). As a Canadian, Baichwal was quite familiar with Atwood's reputation: A number of prominent intellectuals provide commentary, including economist and writer

Raj Patel Rajeev "Raj" Patel (born 1972) is a British academic, journalist, activist and writer who has lived and worked in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the United States for extended periods. He has been referred to as "the rock star of social justice w ...

, ecologist William E. Rees, historian of religions

Karen Armstrong Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and Christian mysticism, mystical ...

, and former

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univer ...

Louise Arbour Louise Arbour, (born February 10, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer, prosecutor and jurist. Arbour was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario and a former Chief Pr ...

. The film was produced by Ravida Din for the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

. It premiered at the

2012 Sundance Film Festival The 2012 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 until January 29, 2012 in Park City, Utah. 64 short films were selected for the festival from 7,675 submissions, including 27 international shorts from 3,592 submissions. Non-competitio ...

. ''Payback'' is distributed by

Zeitgeist Films Zeitgeist Films is a New York, New York, New York-based distribution company founded in 1988 which acquires and distributes films from the U.S. and around the world. In 2017, Zeitgeist entered into a multi-year strategic alliance with film distr ...

, which also distributed Baichwal's previous works ''

Act of God In legal usage in the English-speaking world, an act of God, act of nature, or damnum fatale ("loss arising from inevitable accident") is an event caused by no direct human action (e.g. Severe weather, severe or extreme weather and other natur ...

'' and '' Manufactured Landscapes''. The film is being distributed in Canada by Mongrel Media, beginning March 2012.

References

External links

* *
Q&A with Baichwal in Salt Lake Tribune
* Scott, A. O.
"Why the World’s Debt Is About More Than Money"
''New York Times'' review. " ies to show how debt extends far beyond the domain of money", per ''Times''. 2012 films Documentary films about finance 2012 documentary films Canadian documentary films National Film Board of Canada documentaries Films based on works by Margaret Atwood Works about debt Films directed by Jennifer Baichwal Massey College, Toronto Films based on non-fiction books 2010s Canadian films {{2010s-Canada-documentary-film-stub

See also

References

External links