The Divide (2015 film)

The Divide
UK Theatrical Poster
Directed by	Katharine Round
Produced by	Katharine Round Christopher Hird
Music by	Andrew Hewitt
Cinematography	Woody James
Edited by	John Mister
Production companies	Dartmouth Films Literally Films
Distributed by	Dartmouth Films (UK)
Release dates	November 2015 (Ireland) 22 April 2016 (UK)
Running time	78 minutes
Country	United Kingdom/United States
Language	English

The Divide is a UK/US documentary film directed by British film-maker Katharine Round.^[1] It was produced by Katharine Round and Christopher Hird.^[2] It is an adaptation of the acclaimed 2009 socio-economic book The Spirit Level by Richard G. Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. The book argues that there are "pernicious effects that inequality has on societies: eroding trust, increasing anxiety and illness, (and) encouraging excessive consumption".

Originally titled The Spirit Level,^[3] The film ran a successful crowdfunding campaign through IndieGoGo, raising £70,000, £20,000 more than expected. ^[4] The film was completed in 2015 and previewed that same year. It was released theatrically in the UK in April 2016. A US release is set to follow later in 2016.

The film has appeared at several major film festivals including: Sheffield Doc/Fest^[5] (June 2015), Open City Film Festival in London^[6](June 2015) where it was nominated for Best UK Film,^[7] Cork Film Festival^[8] (November 2015), and ZagrebDox Film Festival^[9] (February 2016).

Synopsis

As many Western countries have become richer, they've seemingly become unhappier; with fearful communities, health problems and violent deaths becoming more common not less. The Divide weaves together seven stories to paint a picture of how economic division creates social division.

Cast

Alden Cass — an American Wall Street Psychologist Jennifer Cooper — an American Gated community resident Darren McGarvey — Scottish rapper Loki, a former alcoholic Rochelle Monte — an English Careworker Janet Sparks — an American Walmart associate Leah Taylor — an American KFC attendant Keith Thomas — an American Three-strikes prisoner

Kwame Anthony Appiah — commentator Rich Benjamin — commentator Richard Berman — commentator Alan Budd — commentator Ha-Joon Chang — commentator Noam Chomsky — commentator Richard Frank — commentator Alexis Goldstein — commentator Max Hastings — commentator Michael Marmot — commentator Cathy O'Neil — commentator Kate Pickett — commentator Paul Piff — commentator Richard G. Wilkinson — commentator

Personnel

• Katharine Round – director, producer
• Christopher Hird – producer, executive producer
• Svilen Kamburov - associate producer
• Andrew Hewitt – music
• Woody James – cinematography
• John Mister – film editor

References

1. Round, Katharine (30 June 2012). "The Spirit Level documentary: bringing the message to millions". The Guardian. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
2. The Spirit Level Documentary
3. The Divide film (11 May 2015). "THE SPIRIT LEVEL is being renamed!". Twitter. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
4. "How to Crowdfund Your Film". The Knowledge. Wilmington Publishing & Information Ltd. 7 February 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
5. "The Divide". SheffDocFest. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
6. "The Divide". Open City Documentary Festival. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
7. "Open City Docs Fest Celebrates Women Filmmakers". WFTV. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
8. "The Divide". Cork Film Festival. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
9. "The Divide". ZagrebDox. Retrieved 3 May 2016.

External links

• Official website
• The Divide at the Internet Movie Database
• The Divide at Rotten Tomatoes