The True Cost

DIRECTOR: Andrew Morgan  COUNTRY: United States  YEAR: 2015   LANGUAGE(S): English   SUBTITLES: German   RUNNING TIME: 92 min  

SECTION: Internationales Forum 2015, Open Eyes 2015

SYNOPSIS

A sweatshirt or a pair of pants for less than 10 euros, a shirt for five – people are often so pleased about the bargains to be found in stores. But how can clothes cost so little in the West? THE TRUE COST examines this question and traces the journey that clothing makes before arriving on the racks. The answer simply is: This should not be allowed!

There is hardly another market in which appearance and reality are so far apart as the clothing industry. On the one hand, there are fashion shows with top models and the red carpet, and on the other clothes are made in near-slavery conditions in the developing world. The chain of exploitation behind each item of clothing is made invisible by the fashion industry’s world of glamour. THE TRUE COST illustrates it: It shows where clothing is produced, what the working conditions are, what happens in the countries where huge amounts of water are used for cotton while locals are thirsty. The exploitation of people and nature behind the cheap prices is shocking. Who would buy a pair of trousers if they knew that a child had to go thirsty or a dress made by a seamstress who died when the factory building collapsed?

THE TRUE COST shows the terrifying truth: It is others who pay the price of our clothing.

ANDREW MORGAN
Andrew Morgan is a director focused on telling stories for a better tomorrow. His experience includes narrative and documentary storytelling for both commercial and film projects. After studying cinematography at the Los Angeles Film School he went on to co-found Untold Creative, a hybrid filmmaking studio where he currently serves as the creative director. Morgan is a contributing writer for the Huffington Post and speaks regularly on storytelling as a tool in the ongoing fight for human rights around the world.

FILMOGRAPHY

Here for Now (2012), After the End (2013), It Remains (2013), The True Cost (2015)

SCRIPT: Andrew Morgan   PRODUCER: Michael Ross   EDITOR: Michael Ross   MUSIC: Duncan Blickenstaf

PRODUCTION: Untold   WORLD SALES: FILM SALES COMPANY 

WEBSITE
http://truecostmovie.com/