Film Premier Crude 23 March

Along with the leaves and blossoms, it seems that spring is a profusion of premieres for some reason.

Monday 23 March sees the UK Premiere of CRUDE at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival at the ICA in London.

'Filmmaker Joe Berlinger’s latest documentary focuses on the infamous “Amazon Chernobyl” case, a 13 year battle between indigenous communities in Ecuador nearly destroyed by oil drilling and Chevron, one of the world’s largest oil companies. In a sophisticated take on the classic David and Goliath story, Berlinger crafts a portrait of the incredible team in the US and Ecuador who have pursued this case against all odds. He is at pains, too, to show the case from all sides: the scientists and lawyers employed by Chevron, Ecuadoran judges, activists and humanitarian organizers, and the dramatic intervention of Ecuador’s president Rafael Correa. CRUDE looks beyond compassion for the disenfranchised and the corruption of power to ask how justice itself is being defined in the 21st century. *Official selection, Sundance Film Festival 2009'

The film stars Trudie Styler, married to Sting who

'...stunned fans at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah at the weekend
(18Jan09) when he showed up unannounced to support a pal's rainforest preservation documentary.The rocker and longtime rainforest activist stepped up to the stage at a Gibson Guitars-sponsored suite to perform hits with a house band.But he was keen to point out that he never intended to play at Sundance - the bearded star was there to back Joe Berlinger's movie Crude, which chronicles the plight of Ecuador residents who are battling the bosses of oil giant Chevron for allegedly contaminating water supplies around the headwaters of the Amazon River.Sting's wife Trudie Styler stars in the film, and the rock singer is
featured.

Obviously this will help everyone to understand what they are contributing to when they cruise the planet in their chosen form of haste, gas up the tank or whatever, so well worth seeing.

For those who like films called 'crude' about peak oil and the woes of the oil industry, googling this also turned up these offerings:

A Crude Awakening
http://www.oilcrashmovie.com/index2.html

Crude Impact (here reviewed and recommended by Transition Towns)
http://transitionculture.org/2006/12/12/review-new-peak-oil-film-crude-impact/


And The Age of Stupid was also going under the name Crude when previewed last year.

Popular kind of choice, then.


Be happy


PS Here are the URLs for plain text readers.


http://www.crudethemovie.com/

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/sting%20supports%20crude%20film%20with%20sundance%20show_1092250