Screening Times
Thursday February 28, 7:30 p.m., PCC Cascade Moriarty Bldg. 104 Documentary Night with Film Director Sandy Cioffi (Women Filmmakers Week)
All films are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.
Sweet Crude (Nigeria, USA)
Directed by Sandy Cioffi
2007, 100 min.
Sweet Crude is the story of Nigeria's Niger River Delta, where 20% of U.S. oil is produced. For 50 years foreign oil companies have extracted oil from the region, destroying the environment and harming the health of and impoverishing the indigenous people in the process. In 1995 famed writer and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wewa and eight others were hanged by Nigerian President Sani Abacha for leading a worldwide protest and boycott on behalf of the Ogoni people against Shell Oil Company. Today a new brand of militancy has emerged to call attention to the desperate poverty and injustice in this region. Set against a stunning backdrop of Niger Delta footage, the film gives voice to the region's complex mix of stakeholders. The film takes 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.
Sandy Cioffi will introduce and discuss her film.