Green campaigners from Oxfordshire who have invested in a new eco-film are hoping to help break a world record at its premiere in Oxford.

The Age of Stupid, starring Pete Postlethwaite, is being show in 64 cinemas across the country tomorrow night and the Phoenix Picturehouse in Oxford is one of only 11 to have already sold out.

Promoters of the film are hoping to get 16,000 people watching the first showing simultaneously – a Guinness World Record.

Anthony Simpson, chairman of Kidlington vs Climate Change, snapped up a ticket the moment they went on sale.

He and two friends invested £5,000 in the independent film, which was funded by selling shares to individuals and groups. It cost £450,000 to film and a further £130,000 to promote.

Mr Simpson, of Garden City, Kidlington, said: “I’m one of several people from Oxford to have invested in the film.

“My friends think I’m completely mad, but I didn’t invest to make money – I’ve been tracking the making of the film for many months and I’m desperate for it to be seen by as many people as possible.

“The film has no major commercial backers and the promoters have avoided handing it to a distributor so they retain the rights to show it as widely as possible.

“I’ve seen the making of the film and seen the trailer, but I’m looking forward to actually seeing it – the reviews have been brilliant.

“I hope it makes a real difference.”

The Age of Stupid tells the story of a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking back at archive footage from 2007 and asking: “Why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?”

Wolvercote environmentalist Mark Lynas, the author of the award-winning Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet, was also a consultant on the film and helped the director, Franny Armstrong, construct the story.

Mr Lynas, 35, who hit the headlines last month after claiming new nuclear power stations could cut carbon emissions, will be attending the premiere in London’s Leicester Square.

He said: “It was always intended to be something that would appeal to a mainstream audience.

“The music is fantastic and it’s gripping.

“It’s not preachy, but it’s got a serious message.”

tshepherd@oxfordmail.co.uk