Love or hate him, you know Russell Brand won’t shy away from saying what he wants and his new documentary, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Michael Winterbottom, is set to try and tackle the growing debate regarding the growing inequality between the rich and the poor, much like INEQUALITY FOR ALL but with a slightly different approach.
Although many dismiss Brand as just a loud voice among many, he’s definitely had an impact and recently helped residents keep their estate in Hackney, it was a hugely influential victory. In THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES, he joins forces with Winterbottom on a polemical documentary about the financial crisis and gross inequality we currently face. Starting with the genesis of today’s economic policies, with the arrival of Milton Friedman’s school of thought in Reagan’s leadership and Thatcher’s UK, the film explores how these policies now dominate the western world. The rich have got richer; where a CEO of a major British company used to earn 10 times the average wage of his workers, now they earn 200 times. According to Oxfam, the richest 80 people in the world own as much as the poorest 3.5 billion.
Watch the trailer now and decide for yourself, what you think:
Using a mixture of documentary, interviews, archive footage and comedy, THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES has special screenings across the UK for one night only on 21st April alongside a live Q&A event with Russell Brand, followed by the film’s cinemas release on 24th April.
