"Plastic People" Documentary FREE Screening

On Friday, March 14, at 6:30pm, Hudson Hall will host a free screening of Ben Addelman’s 2024 documentary Plastic People, followed by a panel discussion co-hosted by Beyond Plastics and Columbia County Reduces Waste—Bring Your Own (CCRW–BYO). The film, named one of Variety’s best documentaries of the year, is an eye-opening investigation into the creeping omnipresence of microplastics, told through the lens of science journalist Ziya Tong. Over 84 harrowing minutes, Tong takes viewers on a global journey, revealing how these microscopic fragments are not only choking our oceans and contaminating our soil but have also made their way into human organs, with consequences we’re only beginning to understand. 

This is no distant environmental catastrophe—it’s an immediate, insidious crisis that has infiltrated everything from our tap water to the air we breathe. The film exposes how everyday objects—synthetic clothing, disposable packaging, even teabags—shed plastic particles that accumulate in our bodies. Scientists are racing to understand the long-term effects, but early findings suggest they may be linked to a slew of health issues, from endocrine disruption to inflammation to potential links with chronic disease.