Capital in the 21st Century

After tackling documentaries about sporting legends and surveillance, Kiwi director Justin Pemberton (Chasing Great) began his most ambitious project yet. Inspired by the brick-sized bestseller by French economist Thomas Piketty, Capital in the 21st Century examines the disproportionate amount of cash and power wielded by a small global minority. The French-Kiwi co-production blends talking heads (including Piketty and Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz) and pop culture imagery of the rich and famous. Jean-Benoît Dunckel (from French duo Air) supplies the music. 

I love movies ... I thought this was a wonderful way to reach a broader and different audience, and most importantly to use a different language to talk about capital in the 21st century. I believe in the language of the social sciences, but I also believe that it is insufficient, and that it needs to be complemented with the language of novels, cartoons, popular culture, art.

– Thomas Piketty, economist and author of 2013 book Capital in the 21st Century

Key Cast & Crew

Justin Pemberton

Director, Writer

Matthew Metcalfe

Writer, Producer

Thomas Piketty

Writer, Original Author

Alana Cotton

Colourist

Catherine Madigan

Co-Producer

Darryl Ward

Cinematographer