Chemtrails, anti-vaxxers, Trump’s tweets, viral videos, viral outrage, breaking news: we are drowning in information overload. Every 60 seconds we share millions of items on Facebook, we watch millions of videos on Youtube and TikTok, we write billions of tweets and WhatsApp messages. Fake news outlets sometimes break real stories. Trusted newspapers sometimes run fake news. People believe everything and nothing at the same time. Our brains cannot process all this information.
Can we change it?
All around the world small crews of freelance journalists are creating an alternative. Rob Orchard and his Delayed Gratification in England, Frédéric Martel in France, De Correspondent’s crew in the Netherlands, Lea Korsgaard and her Zetland in Denmark and many others. They do not know each other, but still they want the same thing: to slow down.
Meanwhile, in Milan, four independent journalists meet professor Peter Laufer, from the University of Oregon; he is the author of the Slow News manifesto, inspired by the Slow Food philosophy and adapted for journalism. They have a mission: to connect the dots. Which means reaching and connecting all those journalists who believe in “slow journalism” and in the key role of journalism for the defense and maintenance of democracy and freedom. A crucial battle at a time when these values are under attack everywhere.
All these people’s paths are about to cross: will they build something new together?
Slow News is an ensemble documentary film about a key international issue: information in the age of fake news, post-truth and populism.
Slow News is a journey across Europe and North America, to discover the lives, challenges and ideas of some people who are trying to change things.
In the end, Slow News is the story of the battle for the defense of Democracy and Freedom; a conflict that is fought with the weapons of information in today’s society.
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2020: Feature Length International Competition