Still: Quota - Job, Joris & Marieke

In Job, Joris and Marieke’s Quota, which world-premieres at TIFF, all citizens are given monitors which measure their CO2 emissions. Nobody quite knows what will happen when the quota level goes down to zero, and so carry on regardless, the way humans do. One citizen even hastens the decrease by hosting an emissions party, turning on all his energy-emitting devices…to his great cost.
 
“The problem with the issue of climate change is that it’s happening at such a slow pace that we don’t connect our own actions to what’s happening in the world,” comments co-director Job Roggeveen, one third of the acclaimed Dutch animation outfit. “We also thought it would be funny to show the dumbest behaviour of humans.” 
 
“Animation is such a great medium to deliver a hard message in a way that makes people laugh at their own stupidity while still understanding what you’re saying,” he adds.
 
Job, Joris and Marieke stopped flying eight years ago, and the message they impart seems as pertinent to fellow industry professionals as it is to the public at large. 
 
“We couldn’t justify it to ourselves anymore,” says Roggeveen of their joint decision.

“We would really enjoy going to a great festival like TIFF in Toronto, where the film is having its world premiere. It would also be a lot better for our careers to have industry meetings in person. But we think the message we’re sending to the world by not attending TIFF is more important. Every filmmaker should ask themselves: is it really important for the world that I’m present at this festival, or is it mainly important for me?”

Their modus operandi is not to preach. Persuasion can be effected in much more subtle ways. “If you want to make a film about climate change, it’s hard not to fall into the trap of the obvious or make a short film that feels more like an infomercial than an actual film. We wanted to surprise people. If we only reprimand them, they probably won’t watch it,” Roggeveen adds.

“That said, we wanted to make audiences think about their behaviour and its influence on climate change. We all seem to think we are entitled to a lot of things just because we have the money to do so. We thought, if you see the world as one big cake, and everyone gets a piece, many of us (especially in the Western world) take a piece that’s way bigger than appropriate. This way of thinking has become part of our system. And we wanted to confront audiences with the idea that everyone would have a personal CO2 limit.”
 
One highly pleasing aspect of the film is seeing Carice van Houten (Game of Thrones, Black Book, Brimstone), on the list of credits. Herself a climate activist, Van Houten provides the voice of the quota app. “Carice is a big supporter of Extinction Rebellion, and we hope her contribution will generate some attention,” says Roggeveen.
 
Quota was made for the Ultrakort (Ultrashort) competition, organized by the Netherlands Film Fund, Vue Cinema and The Dutch Association of Arthouse Cinemas. The film will be screened as the short opening film before the feature presentations in these cinemas. 

“Which is great because it will reach an audience that isn’t necessarily interested in animation. Hopefully, it will catch them by surprise,” he adds of the film’s future trajectory in Dutch cinemas. “At the same time, we’re working with a team on distribution, sales, and marketing to get the film into many film festivals. TIFF is a great start because many programmers will see the film there and hopefully program it at their own festivals.”
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Quota is written, directed and produced by Dutch animation studio Job, Joris & Marieke. International sales are handled by SND Films and Kaboom Distribution handle festivals. It is financed with support from The Netherlands Film Fund.