You’re invited Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. at the North Island College Theatre in Courtenay for the final screening in a film series before the World Community Film Festival.
Play Again examines the consequences of the fact that most children play behind electronic screens more than they play outside.
What are we missing when we are behind screens so much? And how will this impact our children, our society, and eventually, our planet?
Play Again explores the changing balance between the virtual and natural worlds. Is our connection to nature disappearing down the digital rabbit hole?
The average American child now spends over eight hours in front of a screen each day, can name hundreds of corporate logos, but fewer than 10 native plants.
These children are almost entirely out of contact with the world that, over millions of years of evolution, shaped human beings — the natural world.
Play Again, a moving and humorous documentary, follows six teenagers who, like the “average American child,” spend five to 15 hours a day behind screens.
Play Again unplugs these teens and takes them on their first
wilderness adventure — no electricity, no cell phone coverage, no
virtual reality. Through the voices of children and leading experts,
Play Again investigates the consequences of a childhood removed from nature and encourages action for a sustainable future.
The long-term consequences of this experiment on human development remain to be seen, but the stakes couldn’t be higher. By most accounts, this generation will face multiple crises — environmental, economic and social.
Will this screen world have adequately prepared these “digital natives” to address the problems they’ll face, problems on whose resolution their own survival may depend?
As we stand at a turning point in our relationship with earth, we find
ourselves immersed in the gray area between the natural and virtual worlds. From a global perspective of wonder and hope, Play Again examines this unique point in history.
You’re welcome to experience a provocative film and discussion. Admission is by donation.
This film will not be screened in the World Community Film Festival on Feb. 3 and 4.
For details about the festival, visit worldcommunity.ca.
— World Community
