When the World Breaks

USA / 2010 / Hans Fjellestad / 52mins & 84 mins

When the World Breaks takes the audiences beyond the bread lines and dust bowls of the Great Depression and into one of the most formative and creative decades in American history. When the world breaks, artistic revolutions erupt and people awaken to become stronger, and more expressive.

From the prose of Steinbeck to Ray Bradbury's imagined futures to the outsider realism of Richard Wright, different American voices thrived. Experiments in radio, music, film, animation, New Deal social programs, urban planning, comedy and theater were abundant. The audience hears from contemporary experts on the Depression era, drawing parallels to our current recession.

And so our story begins with a simple premise; extreme times are also times of heightened creativity and innovation, and that in looking back at Depression-era life, art, cinema, literature, music, culture, politics, we may discover new ways in which to see ourselves today.

Director Fjellestad draws in a wealth of talent, interviewing celebrities and people including writer Ray Bradbury, actress Phyllis Diller, Oscar winner Mickey Rooney and Jack "Godfather of Fitness" LaLanne and looks at creativity and survival in desperate times.
The film also features rare film archive from the period accessed from the Prelinger Library in San Francisco, when amateur and professional cinephiles were experimenting with brand new technologies and methods to tell stories.