GHFF2023 The Quietest Year

The Quietest Year (2024)

Directed by Karen Akins, 74 mins

World Premiere

In-person: Saturday 02 December 18:50, Wellcome Collection, Euston Road

Limited number of single tickets available

The Quietest Year is a disquieting tale set in Vermont, USA - presumed to be one of the last idyllic places in America - during the Covid-19 pandemic, when life slowed down to a crawl. 

Whilst the pandemic was unquestionably one of the quietest times in a century, The Quietest Year illustrates how noise pollution, that so many are subjected to while trapped at home, is not just an irritation but rather a full-blown public health and environmental justice crisis too long ignored.

What has happened historically, technologically and politically to create such a noisy world? 

What are the very real health and environmental impacts and who are the groups who have been identifying noise as an indicator of human and environmental degradation?

What is going on culturally and politically around noise and who are those who are leading resistance to noise through coordinated movements? What can we learn from their actions? 

What future do we face in the midst of shifting technology, cultural attitudes and urbanization and what can we do to protect our commons? 

The Quietest Year unpacks all of these issues, with authoritative experts and humour, along a number of compelling active storylines.

Panel discussion

The discussion after the screening was moderated by Christopher Hird, founder of Dartmouth Films and member of the Global Health Film Advisory Board. Christo was joined by director Karen Akins on stage and Dr Michael Osborne, Cardiologist and Associate Director of Nuclear Cardiology: Education, Massachusetts General Hospital and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Dan Gauger, invertor of the Bose noise-cancelling technology, and Dr Jamie Banks, Founder and President of Quiet Communities via Zoom.