“How many is too many? And is it even the right question to ask? One thing is certain: there are more and more of us on this planet. 25 years ago there were five billion of us. Today, there are seven. The acclaimed Austrian director Werner Boote (‘Plastic Planet’) flies around the planet like a modern Socrates to examine the myths and facts about overpopulation, which is portrayed as one of today’s greatest threats. From Kenya’s slums to the world’s most densely populated place, Dhaka in Bangladesh, and to New York City. On his journey, he speaks with everyone from demographic researchers to environmental activists, and the conclusion that Boote reaches is considerably different from the myth. Rather, it is possibly the sky-high consumption and constant pursuit of immediate profit of the West that is more to blame for the challenges facing the planet. And maybe overpopulation is just a myth that has been created with the sole purpose of covering up larger and far more important problems, and simultaneously making the world’s population the scapegoat of a far more complex game. ‘It is not about how many of us there are, but about how we treat each other,’ as Boote recognises. We take this as the basis for a debate.” (http://cphdox.dk/en/screening/population-boom)
