When the World Breaks

World Premiere

24 October 1929: Black Thursday plunged the world into its darkest time in modern economic history. Flash forward 2009 – the world goes into a global recession.

When The World Breaks looks at creativity and survival in desperate times, specifically during the Great Depression of the 1930s, drawing parallels to our current recession.

Extreme times bring heightened creativity and innovation The Depression-era saw burgeoning art, cinema, literature, music, architecture, entertainment, culture, and politics. By looking back, we discover new ways to see ourselves today. When the world breaks, artistic revolutions erupt and people awaken to become stronger – and more expressive.

Filmed across the United States and Japan, the film includes rare film images from the period, when amateur and professional
filmmakers were experimenting with brand new technologies and methods to tell stories.

When The World Breaks takes audiences beyond the bread lines and dust bowls into a vibrant story of one of the most formative decades in American history. Director Fjellestad interviews celebrities and people who lived through the Depression from writer Ray Bradbury to actress Phyllis Diller. The audience also hears from contemporary experts in the Depression era.