Film Synopsis: Smog Town

By placing respiratory health firmly in our sights, the 2020 Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the risks that air pollution poses to public health – as well as to the planet’s future. (It is estimated that toxic air quality causes up to 7 million deaths a year.) In Smog Town, a team of local officials attempt to make good on China’s “War for the defence of Blue Skies.” But can local measures have a real impact on such a global issue?

Deputy chief Li, his assistant Hu and the rest of the city of Langfang’s environmental protection are under strict government orders to meet air pollution reduction targets. The drastic measures they impose prove deeply unpopular, disproportionately penalising poorer citizens, workers and small business traders while, a few kilometres away, large factories continue to contribute to rising levels of air pollution…

In subtle, observational tones, Smog Town captures the futility of environmental policies that focus on short-term targets without addressing wider, systemic causes – and forces us to reckon with the urgency of a crisis we can’t afford not to address.

Screened as part of TOAFF20