99 minutes – Documentary
Language: English
Festival release date: CPH:DOX, Copenhagen, Denmark (World Premiere)
Release date:
Production company: John Walker Productions, NFB, CBC documentary Channel
Canadian distributor: National Film Board of Canada

We live in a time of venomous social media, resurgent authoritarianism and rampant narcissism threatening to trash civilization as we know it. Producer-Director John Walker holds a cinematic mirror up to all that nonsense and with some terrific on-screen help he explains why A-holes thrive in certain environments and how they keep getting elected. Inspired by Aaron James’ New York Times bestseller of the same name, Assholes: A Theory investigates the breeding grounds of contemporary “asshole culture” and locates signs of civility in an otherwise rude-‘n-nasty universe.  With the global acceleration of asshole behaviour, spurred on by social media, the film’s participants seek to understand and push back against this rising tide of assholery.

Also see: Assholes: A Theory Begins.