Black Gold
Co-sponsored by Whole Foods, One Earth Film Festival is hosting a free pre-festival preview of three films focused on fair trade, coffee and waste. Join us at Whole Foods - River Forest (7245 Lake St, River Forest, IL) on Thursday, February 21, 2013, at 7 p.m. to learn what fair trade is, why it's important and also to sample Whole Trade Guarantee coffee. RSVP to the store at 708.366.1045. Join the Facebook event to receive updates. Call 773-315-1109 for more information. During the prescreening event, we'll watch and discuss a clip from Black Gold (Marc Francis; Nick Francis/2006/78 min). Multinational coffee companies now rule our shopping malls and supermarkets and dominate the industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil. But while we continue to pay for our lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers remains so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields. Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee.
Black Gold follows the story of Tadesse Meskela, one man on a mission to save his 74,000 struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. As his farmers strive to harvest some of the highest quality coffee beans on the international market, Tadesse travels the world in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price. Against the backdrop of Tadesse’s journey to London and Seattle, the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world’s coffee trade becomes apparent. New York commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges, and the double dealings of trade ministers at the World Trade Organisation reveal the many challenges Tadesse faces in his quest for a long term solution for his farmers.
AWARDS: Winner: Best Achievement in Production, British Independent Film Awards. Winner: Best Documentary, San Francisco Black Film Festival. Nominee: Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival.
cupofcoffee
We'll also view the 15 minute film, For the Price of a Cup of Coffee (Hypatia Angelique Porter/2007/15 min). What is the cost of convenience? For the Price of a Cup of Coffee is a short environmental documentary examining the life cycle of a paper cup and the repercussions of a society reliant on convenience. Why are less than 1% of coffeeshop patrons bringing their own cup? Why do we have so much garbage, and where does it go? What is the true cost of a disposable culture? Shot throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including interviews with local activists, environmental experts and coffeeshop owners. This film is full of information that all consumers should know about the products that we use everyday, and the steps we need to make towards a more sustainable world.
AWARDS: Festival Favorite, Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival 2008. Best Documentary, Epidemic Student Film Festival 2007.
Finally, we'll explore Fairtrade Africa (Rob Holmes, Founder/Pres. GLP/2012/5 min).
Fairtrade Africa - Short Version from Green Living Project on Vimeo.
Produced by award-winning media company Green Planet Films.
We hope you will join us at Whole Foods - River Forest (7245 Lake St, River Forest, IL) on Thursday, February 21, 2013, at 7 p.m. for this very special One Earth Film Festival preview night!