Global Health Film Classics: The Divide | Global Health Film
The Divide: resource pack

The Divide (2015)

Directed by Katharine Round, 78 mins

Sunday 16 August 2020 19:00 BST plus panel discussion

The Divide tells the story of seven individuals striving for a better life in modern day US and UK - where the top 0.1% owns as much wealth as the bottom 90%. By plotting these tales together, we uncover how every aspect of our lives is controlled by one factor: the size of the gap between rich and poor.

This isn’t based on real life. This is real life.

Wall Street psychologist Alden wants to make it to the top 1%; Glaswegian rapper Darren just wants to stay sober; Newcastle carer Rochelle wishes her job wasn't looked down on so much; Jen in Sacramento, California, doesn't even talk to the neighbours in her upscale gated community - they've made it clear to her she isn't "their kind". It becomes clear that a higher income doesn’t ensure happiness and inequality hurts us all – rich and poor.

By weaving these stories with news archive from 1979 to the present day, The Divide creates a lyrical, psychological and tragi-comic picture of how economic division creates social division. The film features high profile commentators including former economic adviser to Margaret Thatcher, Sir Alan Budd, historian Sir Max Hastings, economist Ha-Joon Chang, Noam Chomsky and epidemiologist Sir Michael Marmot.

The Divide serves as both a call to arms, and a powerful warning. The film is inspired by the critically-acclaimed, best-selling book The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.

The excellent panel discussion was moderated by Professor Sir Andy Haines from the Global Health Film Advisory Board; he was joined by director Katharine Round, as well as Richard Wilkinson and Wanda Wyporska, respectively Co-founder and Executive Director of The Equality Trust. 

The Divide panel discussion


The Divide featured in the 2015 Global Health Film Festival

The Divide website

This screening is organised in partnership with Dartmouth Films. A limited number of tickets are available: book now to join us on Sunday 16 August; we will close registration at 5pm on Sunday 16 August and will send you a link to the event by 6pm, an hour before the screening starts.

Registration is free of charge; each screening costs just under £1,000 for us to organise. We are grateful for any donation you are able to make to help cover our costs; you can make a donation securely using this link

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Global Health Film is registered in England and Wales under charity number 1179829 and company number 10436509. Registered address: 10 Queen Street Place, London, EC4R 1BE
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