Sweet Crude at Galway Film Fleadh on July 9

galway | arts and media | event notice Friday July 03, 2009 07:06 by Tammi Sims tammijsims at aol dot com

Sweet Crude will screen at Galway Film Fleadh on July 9 followed by a panel discussion.

Sweet Crude is a documentary about the devastating impact of oil production in the Niger Delta. It will screen at Galway Film Fleadh on Thursday, July 9 in Town Hall Main at 14.00. A panel discussion entitled Power Struggle will take place after the screening; this will examine parallels, or whether any exist, between the Niger Delta & Rossport in Mayo.

Sweet Crude is the story of Nigeria’s Niger Delta – a story that’s never been captured in a feature-length film.
Beginning with the filmmaker’s initial trip to document the building of a library in a remote village, Sweet Crude is a journey of multilayered revelation and ever-deepening questions. It’s about survival, corruption, greed and armed resistance. It’s about one place in one moment, with themes that echo many places throughout history. Sweet Crude shows the humanity behind the statistics, events and highly sensationalized media portrayal of the region. Set against a stunning backdrop of Niger Delta footage, the film gives voice to the region’s complex mix of stakeholders and invites the audience to learn the deeper story.

The issues are local and human, yet they have far-reaching political, environmental and economic implications. It’s a powder-keg situation that affects the daily lives and futures of the people who live there. Left unchecked, its consequences will be felt around the globe. Yet barely anyone outside the Delta knows what’s really happening.

Why do we care enough to make this movie? Because raising awareness just might be the tipping point it takes to head off civil war. Because the kids of the Delta deserve a future. Because what happens in Nigeria ripples through African political stability and global economic markets. Because Nigeria produces more than 10 percent of the U.S. oil supply. Ultimately, the events unfolding in the Niger Delta affect us all.

It will take a vigilant world community to advocate for nonviolent political solutions. With this independent documentary, we take a stand for a more truthful conversation, with the hope that a more educated public will hold governments and big oil accountable to peaceful and just resolution.

In recent weeks, the stakes have been raised. On May 15, 2009, the Nigerian Military Joint Task Force (JTF) opened fire on the village of Oporoza which serves as the centerpiece of the Sweet Crude. Civilian casualties were in the hundreds and thousands displaced. Media and humanitarian aid organizations such as the Red Cross were kept out of the area for weeks. Since that time, the crew of Sweet Crude along with countless advocates have lobbied to put pressure on the Nigerian government to stop the onslaught and initiate third party monitored peace talks.

We recognize that this village is but one place where the pursuit of oil is having damaging effects on the people who live in oil rich places on the planet. Increasingly there is conflict such as there was in Rossport, Mayo County in 2005. As a human race, we simply must find another way.

Sweet Crude will screen at the Galway Film Fleadh on July 9 at Town Hall Main 14.00.

A panel discussion entitled Power Struggle will take place after the screening; this will examine parallels, or whether any exist, between the Niger Delta & Rossport in Mayo.