Showing @ Filmouse, Edinburgh, Sat 01 Jun only
Christoffer Guldbrandsen / Denmark / 2012 / 58 min
Francesco Amato, Stefano Scarafia / Italy / 2012 / 27 min
The dangerous power of large corporations and the questionable ethics that all too often go hand-in-hand, has become increasingly obvious over recent years. So in some ways the documentary Stealing Africa, following the tax evasion schemes practiced by Anglo-Swiss multinational Glencore’s copper mining operations in poverty-stricken Zambia, is not surprising. However the facts and figures that demonstrate the scale of the inequity are truly shocking, and at times, render this film almost unwatchable.
Easy viewing this is not. Not only is it infuriating (the post-show discussion panel described their reactions variously as “angry”, “shocked” and “depressed”) but it’s also a convoluted tale of fraud, tax evasion, environmental pollution, poverty, unemployment, capitalism and morality that pits European multi-millionaires against some of the world’s most impoverished people. It’s a tale of corporate abuse of power on a global scale, where the natural resources being removed by multi-billion pound companies who avoid paying profit tax, are ten times more valuable than the foreign aid received for a country where 60% of the population survives on less than 1 USD a day.
Hope is provided in the second film of the double bill. Couscous Island was produced by Slow Food and tells the story of Fadiouth, a Senegalese coastal village where the local women who produce a traditional millet couscous have joined forces with fishermen fighting to eke out a living in waters which are being overfished by illegal European fleets. Their presidium is aiming to improve the fortunes of these traditional producers by preserving their culinary heritage. The interviews are set against picturesque backdrops of splashing waves and the comforting rhythms of village life, and the prevailing mood seems hopeful. It serves as much-needed antidote to the despair of Stealing Africa and an optimistic reminder of what people – of all cultures – are capable of when empowered.