BANANAS!*

October 6, 2015

Bananas!* screens in Zimbabwe

Filed under: News — admin @ 9:37 am

The 17th annual  Zimbabwe International Film Festival is screening “Bananas!*” on two occasions. The first screening will be on Thursday the 8th of October, and the second one on Friday the 9th of October! The festival is hosted in the capital city of Zimbabwe, Harare.

Check out the full schedule here

September 18, 2015

Upcoming Screenings!

Filed under: The Film — admin @ 10:49 am

It’s so good to see that people still want to screen “BANANAS!*” and “BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS” around the world!

Here is a list of the upcoming screenings of both films in September and October:

19-25 september: “BANANAS!*” and “BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS”  at Swedish Film Festival in Japan!
More info (in Japanese)
20 september: “BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS” in Bonn
More info
3 october: “BANANAS!*” in Barcelona.
More info


3-10 october:
“BANANAS!*” and “BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS” at  ZIFFT
(website under construction)

13 october: “BANANAS!*” in Duluth, MN at Zinema 2. It will be apart of an environmentally conscious doc series that will happen on Tuesdays throughout the Fall.
More info

September 15, 2015

Dole Food CEO David Murdock ordered to pay $148 Million in buyout lawsuit!

Filed under: News — admin @ 2:56 pm

The plantation workers are yet to receive the just compensation for their mistreatment. But at least some justice has been served to the corrupt CEO of Dole.

A Delaware court ruled that the CEO of produce giant Dole, David Murdock, along with Chief Operating Officer C. Michael Carter, intentionally defrauded investors by undervaluing the company in order for Murdock to purchase the remaining shares at a discounted rate. The 92 year-old billionaire had already owned 40 percent of Dole’s stock prior to a management-led buyout that turned the company private in 2013. Laster believed that the executives fraudulently created grim sales forecasts, as well as drove the stock price down by understating the cost savings of Dole’s 2012 sale of its Asian operations, as well as cancelling a planned stock buyback. These activities led to Murdock purchasing the remaining shares for $13.50 each in a $1.2 billion purchase. Laster ruled that the executives undervalued the shares by $2.74 apiece, ordering that they pay the difference, a total of $148.2 million to the investors, many of them pension funds, that filed the class-action lawsuit.

Full case file: dole-food-case

November 10, 2014

What happened next in the DOLE-case?

Filed under: News,The Facts — admin @ 3:56 pm

BANANAS!* follows a legal case between Dole and banana workers from Nicaragua. The very case in the film was called Tellez vs DOLE. This case has been ongoing for many years. First the banana workers won, but in the appeals process Dole managed to turn it over.

Here we publish a text from Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal. A very exciting and scary journey that exposes the short comings of the US court system. Our film premiered in 2009, this text was published in June 2014. For the banana workers this doesn’t mean anything. Most of the workers who suffered from the use of DBCP in the plantations are now all gone. Very sad story, indeed.

Click on the link to read the full article:
http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1115&context=gguelj

October 25, 2013

Juan Jose Dominquez Latino Attorney of the Year 2013

Filed under: News,The Facts — admin @ 3:42 pm

Recently named the 2013 Latino Attorney of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association, Juan Jose Dominguez came to the United States as a child and knew poverty firsthand, a life experience that focused him on the community and gave him a profound desire to serve the most needy in society.

“I was about 17 when I began working in hospitals: I was at Saint Francis in Lynwood and at the one at UCLA for 12 years, … two of the largest trauma hospitals in California,” he recalled in an interview with Efe.

There he saw how many Hispanics came to the hospital not knowing how to speak English, without medical insurance and without anyone to help them.

“That really opened my eyes and I saw much sadness,” he said.

The objective of helping these people led Dominguez to work hard to build one of the largest law firms providing legal services to Hispanics in Southern California.

Dominguez said that there is a great need for the Hispanic community to receive good services in their own language.

“There’s a great need for adequate service for Latinos in their language,” he said, emphasizing the importance not only of understanding the culture, “which is very important in the activities of all human beings,” but also “treating all people with respect.”

Dominguez recalled that he came to this country from Cuba with his parents and his five siblings when he was 10, more than four decades ago, and, after spending some time in Miami, they moved to California.

“My dad came at age 42 to the United States with six children and had to work from the first day he arrived, but he always refused to accept help from the government,” he said.

Dominguez said that 25 years later, when the children had grown up, his father, who was a pharmacist in Cuba, went to the University of Southern California and renewed his license, later opening “his first pharmacy when he was 68 or 69 years old.”

This example is evidence that the Dominguez family has always “wanted” to do beneficial things, a virtue that the attorney is trying to inculcate in those who surround him.

Dominguez said it is important that Hispanic youths have good examples of Latino professionals “so that young people have other (aspirations) than just being boxers or football players,” he said.

Published in LATINO DAILY NEWS on October 8, 2013


Read more:

English
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/agencia-efe/131008/successful-lawyer-attributes-achievements-tough-childhood

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2013/10/08/successful-lawyer-attributes-achievements-to-tough-childhood/

http://www.individual.com/storyrss.php?story=183387080&hash=7cea84669a4a176dc548a1ef487f60b4

http://www.efe.com/efe/noticias/english/life/successful-lawyer-attributes-achievements-tough-childhood/4/2062/2146232

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=1071799&CategoryId=12395

http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2013/10/hispanic-standout-juan-jose-dominquez-latino-attorney-of-the-year-2788212.html

http://www.laprensasa.com/309_america-in-english/2246197_successful-lawyer-attributes-achievements-to-tough-childhood.html

http://www.alianzanews.com/309_hispanic-world/2246197_successful-lawyer-attributes-achievements-to-tough-childhood.html


Spanish
http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2013/10/08/1586129/eligen-a-cubano-abogado-latino.html

http://www.google.com/hostednews/epa/article/ALeqM5ji_oeNSf_YqFeb1khcw8iltqQZcw?docId=2146089&hl=es

http://www.laprensasa.com/25_hispanos/2246143_exitoso-abogado-achaca-sus-logros-a-una-dura-infancia-y-dedicarse-a-comunidad.html

http://www.telemundoatlanta.com/1829_usa-hispanos/2246147_exitoso-abogado-achaca-sus-logros-a-una-dura-infancia-y-dedicarse-a-comunidad.html

http://noticias.univision.com/mes-de-hispanidad/lo-ultimo/article/2013-10-08/un-exitoso-abogado-le-achaca-sus-logros-a-una-dura-infancia#axzz2hFZ9qgHr

http://noticias.latino.msn.com/eeuu/exitoso-abogado-achaca-sus-logros-a-una-dura-infancia-y-dedicarse-a-comunidad-3

http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1381320397_5427.html

http://www.lasemanametrony.com/25_estados-unidos-de-norte-america/2246143_exitoso-abogado-achaca-sus-logros-a-una-dura-infancia-y-dedicarse-a-comunidad.html

http://efe.vistasemanal.com/25_inmigracion-e-hispanos/2246143_exitoso-abogado-achaca-sus-logros-a-una-dura-infancia-y-dedicarse-a-comunidad.html

http://www.laguiagratuita.com/1829_usa-hispanos/2246147_exitoso-abogado-achaca-sus-logros-a-una-dura-infancia-y-dedicarse-a-comunidad.html

http://www.holaciudad.com/exitoso-abogado-achaca-sus-logros-una-dura-infancia-y-dedicarse-comunidad-n362753

http://www.eleconomistaamerica.com/sociedad-eAm/noticias/5209080/10/13/Exitoso-abogado-achaca-sus-logros-a-una-dura-infancia-y-dedicarse-a-comunidad.html

July 31, 2012

Philippine banana workers demands answers for pesticide lawsuits

Filed under: News,The Facts — admin @ 10:20 am

Banana workers and their families from the Philippines have posted very strong and worrying testimonies on our site about what have happened to them in Banana plantations in the Philippines. The workers with Philippine Pioneer Banana Workers Inc (PPBWI) filed law suits against the companies involved with DBCP production and distribution but they haven´t had any compensation or answers.

“My father have worked on banana plantation in Davao. Among the family we are claimants of the chemical victor that we awaited for several years. My father and my mother are sickly causing the effects of the chemical being applied in the plantation not only of them mostly our neighbors, my relatives and my classmates they are died due to different diseases”
February 4th, 2012 at 10:59 Bhabes

“Five of us in our family have worked on banana plantation in davao. We are one of the claimants, we patiently waited that our claims will be granted this year. My brother died due to liver cancer, he supervises the harvesting crew at the field. Any updates?”
January 10th, 2012 at 10:39 Alma

“My father is a claimant from Philippines and have died waiting for hes compensation.. may i inquire the result of the case filed by the Philippine Pioneer Banana Plantation Workers Inc.”
March 15th, 2011 at 4:52, John

Read more:
Pesticide lawsuits – a DBCP overview

July 29, 2012

Another day in court for Dole Food Co

Filed under: News,The Facts — admin @ 4:54 pm

The legal case we followed in BANANAS!* is still ongoing. Our film closed when the jury came down with a ground breaking verdict. Dole was found liable with malice and ordered to pay punitive damages to six of the workers. Later, Dole appealed and managed to overturn all the verdicts. A new lawyer, Steve Condie, took on the workers appeal on a pro-bono basis. Now it’s time for a new round in court.

Read the full brief here (PDF, 17 mb):
Appellant’s Opening Brief (redacted version)

It’s an interesting read, Condie highlights the use of so called "John Doe" witnesses in Nicaragua. The case now has a new name: JOSE ANTONIO ROJAS LAGUNA, et al. vs Dole Food CO.

See also:
Two years ago Fredrik Gertten interviewed Steve Condie in court. See the video interview here »

Scientific publication on Dole vs banana workers litigation

Filed under: News,The Facts — admin @ 4:29 pm

BANANAS!* covered just a tiny portion of the ongoing fight for workers health in relation to the use of the chemical DBCP. Now the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health has published a scientific article on the subject.

Download the full article (PDF):
Secrecy and justice in the ongoing saga of DBCP litigation
By Vicent Boix & Susanna R. Bohme

 

November 19, 2011

Big Boys Gone BANANAS!*

Filed under: News — admin @ 3:55 pm

The follow-up to BANANAS!* is the true story about a Swedish filmmaker and a banana corporation. Dirty tricks, lawsuits, manipulation, and the price of free speech.

What is a big corporation capable of in order to protect its brand? Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Gertten’s experienced this recently. His previous film BANANAS!* (2009) recounts the lawsuit that 12 Nicaraguan plantation workers brought against the fruit giant Dole Food Company.

The film was selected for competition by the Los Angeles Film Festival. Nothing wrong so far, right? But then Gertten gets a strange message: the festival removes BANANAS!* from competition. Then a scathing article appears in the Los Angeles Business Journal about the film, and Gertten subsequently receives a letter from Dole’s attorney threatening him with legal action. What follows is an unparalleled thriller that has Gertten capturing the entire process – from DOLE attacking the producers with a defamation lawsuit, bullying scaretactics, to media-control and PR-spin. This personal film reveals precisely how a multinational will stop at nothing to get its way – freedom of speech is at stake. As Dole’s PR company puts it, “It is easier to cope with a bad conscience than a bad reputation”.

The trailer above features our Distrify player. It allows you to watch the trailer and (later on) the whole film anywhere on the web, wherever this player gets embedded.

If you sign up with Distrify and share our player on social media, your blog, or your website, we’ll share our revenues with you. Every time the film gets sold through a player you’ve embedded, you’ll get an affiliate share of 10 percent.

Pretty cool, huh?

Read more at www.bigboysgonebananas.com »

Watch online

Filed under: News,The Film — admin @ 3:10 pm

Juan “Accidentes” Dominguez is on his biggest case ever. On behalf of twelve Nicaraguan banana workers he tackles the Dole Food Company in a ground-breaking legal battle for their use of a banned pesticide that was known to cause sterility. Can he beat the giant, or will the corporation get away with it? In the suspenseful documentary BANANAS!*, filmmaker Fredrik Gertten sheds new light on the global politics of food.

One third of the production price of the average banana is used simply to cover the cost of pesticides1. All over the world, banana plantation workers are suffering and dying from the effects of these pesticides. Juan Dominguez, a million-dollar personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles, is on his biggest case ever representing over 10,000 Nicaraguan banana workers claiming to be afflicted by a pesticide known as Nemagon. Dole Food and Dow Chemicals are on trial.

Another banana worker is being buried in a small northern town in Nicaragua. For his whole life, Alberto Rosales used his machete to remove weeds from below the banana plants. His son says his last years were filled with pain, a body that was itching all night — and in the end his kidneys stopped working.

BANANAS!* – the film that triggered Big Boys

This is the documentary that made Dole so upset in the first place.

bigboysgonebananas.com/

Watch Big Boys Gone Bananas here: vimeo.com/ondemand/bigboysgonebananas
Watch Fredrik Gertten’s latest film, Bikes vs Cars, here: vimeo.com/ondemand/bikesvscars

May 30, 2011

USA FINALLY goes BANANAS!*

Filed under: News — admin @ 10:27 am

The NYC based distributor Oscilloscope, founded by Adam Yauch from The Beastie Boys, has now released BANANAS!* in the US. The DVD is designed by the Oscilloscope team and contains loads of bonus material and exclusive liner notes from writer Dan Koeppel.

The DVD is available online and in stores. Find you nearest retailer here.

It can also be booked for special screenings, educational and consumer DVD through oscilloscope.

"Offers a front-row seat to a landmark Erin Brockovich-style trial… an incredibly polished film."
– Peter Debruge, VARIETY FOUR STARS!

"As gripping as any fictional courtroom drama"
– The Independent

“Through his intelligently crafted documentary, Gertten not only tells a powerful story about the negligence of a large corporation in protecting the health of its employees, but he brings attention to an important issue that might make people think twice before picking up their next bunch of bananas or carton of juice with the name ‘Dole’ on it.
– Juliana Appenrodt, Daily Trojan

“BANANAS!* shines a spotlight on this fascinating and controversial court room case, revealing the inner decisions of a major international corporation and the tireless efforts of two small law firms taking on the big guns – a true David and Goliath story.”
– Adam Rabiner, Brooklyn Food Coalition

“An extremely well crafted, powerful chronicle of an important issue.”
Jesther Entertainment

“An extremely well crafted film, in addition to the courtroom drama, there is raw human emotion and even humor. This is life. This is litigation. This is a front row seat to a history making event.”
– ATNZone

“Whether or not you end up rooting for the underdog, Bananas!* is an informative and multifaceted documentary that will make you think twice about, of all things, bananas.”
– Sierra Club

“The documentary asks what’s at stake in truth, for whom, from plaintiffs to lawyers to corporate executives. If courtrooms aren’t built to reveal truths or deliver justice for ‘little people,’ they are all too often where consequences become clear.”
– PopMatters

"The film Dole Food Co. doesn’t want you to see"
– Uprising Radio, LA

Liner Notes by Dan Koeppel

Filed under: News — admin @ 10:13 am

Dan Koeppel is the author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World as well as a contributor to National Geographic, Wired, and The New York Times. Below are his liner notes, originally written for the US edition of the BANANAS!* DVD.

DVD liner notes
If efforts to suppress a voice are an indication of the truth it speaks, then a banana company’s reaction to Fredrik Gertten’s BANANAS!* is more testament to the power and veracity of the film than any review or encapsulation. The lawsuit filed by Dole that attempted to suppress this documentary is the external story. The one told by the film itself documents the plight of banana workers in Nicaragua, who were systematically poisoned during the 1970s through the spraying of a pesticide chemical called Nemagon.The results were a host of maladies: sterilization, respiratory ills, and cancers. BANANAS!* tells this tale by chronicling a trial in a Los Angeles Courtroom, where for the first time ever, banana workers brought their claims to a United States court. The accounts they give are both appalling and moving.

BANANAS!* is filled with arresting scenes, and the in court testimony of current Dole CEO David DeLorenzo is among its most shocking. He admits under oath that his company knew the chemical was unsafe, but continued to use it with only scant concern for the men, women, and children dwelling on the plantations that produced the world’s most popular and profitable fruit crop. DeLorenzo’s attestations contain not just corporate history, but personal. He managed the banana company’s operations in Nicaragua during the Nemagon era. He effectively signed off on the chemical’s use.

Perhaps because of this, when BANANAS!* was set to premier at the 2009 Los Angeles International Film Festival, Dole threatened to launch a slander suit against both the event and the filmmaker. The result was an unprecedented instance of creative cowardice: asserting that a lawsuit could jeopardize its future, the festival removed the film from competition and showed it in a hastily constructed “test-case” category. It was a surreal moment: viewers were forced to line up and read a disclaimer – really a disavowal – of the film. In return for the festival’s capitulation, Dole sued only Gertten. Filmmaker Robert Kenner, director of Food, Inc. (2008), said in a statement of support for Gertten, “It’s alarming how much power [corporations] have to keep us uninformed. When transparency is lost, we are all in danger.” The result could have been that you’d never get the chance to see this film (and filmmakers might be wary of exposing these stories in the first place). With a lawsuit hanging over it, distribution in the United States became almost impossible.

In other countries, BANANAS!* was seen. Outrage over Dole’s actions mounted; supermarket boycotts were instituted, first in Sweden, and then spreading to other European nations. In 2010, a year after the company filed the legal action, the suit was dismissed. The judge in the case determined that Dole’s case was frivolous and constituted harassment against Gertten. The banana company was forced to pay Gertten’s legal fees of nearly $200,000.

A win for the little guy – and for free speech? Yes, but despite the legal defeat, Dole’s strategy kept BANANAS!* away from viewers for many months. It damaged the credibility of the film, since reports of the suit were far more prominent than accounts of the suit’s collapse. Meanwhile, as the banana company likely hoped, interest in what the film chronicled might have gone stale. That these things didn’t happen isn’t a matter of luck. BANANAS!* is that powerful. That’s because the genuine story of the film – the brutal treatment banana workers and their families were subjected to – is real and riveting. By showing how the fight for justice continues today – not just in courtrooms, but in the bananalands of Central America where little has changed – the film shows an ultimate truth and an ultimate victory.

Dan Koeppel
www.bananabook.org

 

More articles by Dan Koeppel on this site:

March 17, 2011

Juan Dominguez Cleared Of Any Wrongdoing By State Bar

Filed under: News — admin @ 9:44 pm

Last week, a relieved Juan Dominguez provided us with a closing letter from The State Bar Of California confirming his innocence in the banana fraud case. The letter states that Dominguez is free of all “allegations of professional misconduct”, and that the matter is closed.

Thus, the State Bar has determined that Dole’s allegations against Dominguez of fraudulent activities were without basis. These allegations by Dole were devastating for Dominguez’s work and reputation, and the fact that the State Bar has determined that these allegations lacked merit is more evidence of the injustice not only brought upon Dominguez, but also to the thousands of affected banana workers.

Background
In 2007, Dole was found liable for causing six Nicaraguan banana workers to have been sterilized by Dole’s use of the pesticide DBCP and the jury found that Dole acted with malice, fraud and/or oppression. One year later, anonymous Dole witnesses stated that several workers in two upcoming cases had never worked on banana farms and that this alleged fraud had infected all Nicaraguan banana suits. Dole successfully spread their version of the story to international media, which was possible due to a court order protecting the identity of the witnesses, making their stories impossible to double check. Several media articles stated that Dominguez not only risked losing his license, but also “possible prison time”. See LA Times from May, 2009 »
No criminal charges, however, were ever pursued against Dominquez and he was cleared by the California State Bar of any wrongdoing.

 

Read more
A longer story about Dominguez can be found in this press release:

It also includes a Spanish version.

March 10, 2011

BANANAS!* winner at San Francisco Film Festival!

Filed under: News — admin @ 8:39 pm

The 1st San Francisco Green Film Festival (SFGFF), which made its debut March 3-6, 2011, announced on Sunday the recipient of the festival’s inaugural Green Tenacity Award.

The award, to be given annually to a filmmaker who shows great tenacity in exploring crucial environmental issues in their work, was presented to director Fredrik Gertten for his film BANANAS!* which screened at the festival. The festival’s 25-person Screening Committee, including international filmmakers, environmentalists, journalists, industry executives, and content experts, selected the award.

Read more at sfgreenfilmfest.org »

January 11, 2011

Gertten speaks at Frontline Club, London

Filed under: News — admin @ 9:01 pm

Frontline Club in London presents a special screening of BANANAS!* Monday 24th of January. Fredrik Gertten will talk about freedom of speech and answer questions from the audience.

Frontline Club was set up by Vaughan Smith in 2003 in honour of colleagues at the Frontline Television News agency who died pursuing their work. It brings together the key players and thinkers in politics and the media and give you an opportunity not only to hear from experts but to ask questions and contribute to the discussion in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. Recently Frontline is known as the safehaven of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Read more at Frontline’s website »

Austria goes BANANAS!*

Filed under: News — admin @ 8:52 pm

Austrian distributor Poool Filmverleih takes on BANANAS!* in a new and groundbreaking way. For the first time together with the national broadcaster ORF. This is how Austria will go BANANAS!* in the next coming days:

January 14, Friday – Top Kino, Vienna. POOOL Filmverleih celebrates in cooperation with the ORF the premiere of Bananas!*. TV host Paul Kraker (ORF) moderates the audience discussion with Fredrik Gertten after the filmscreening. 

January 15, Saturday – Matinée. Fair Trade breakfast starts at 10.30 a.m. The film starts at 12.30 p.m. Director Fredrik Gertten talks with MMag. Herbert Wasserbauer (www.dka.at) about the current conditions of employment for banana workers. 

January 16, Sunday – Broadcast. ORF2 broadcast of the German dubbed version of the film. 

January 21, Friday – Theatrical release! General theatrical release in Austrian cinemas. Filmstart 8 p.m. Daily screenings in Vienna and Linz.

Talks at Top Kino, Vienna:
January 21, Friday – Film and podiumdiscussion. Filmstart: 8 p.m. Klaus Werner-Lobo (author, politician) and Werner Hörtner talk about alternitiv ways for globalization.

January 27, Thursday – Film and podiumdiscussion. Filmstart: 06.15 p.m. Dr. Peter Drössler talks with Peter Jäger (autlook filmsales) and Dr. Alfred Noll (media lawer) about documentaries as a political way of expression, the right of free speech and the yet failed attempt to stop the release of the film BANANAS!*

The events are a collaboration between Poool Filmverleih, WG Film, Autlook Films, Südwind Austria, Greenpeace Austria, Dreikönigsaktion, Global 2000, Gewerkschaft der Privatangestellten and Abeiterkammer Wien. 

Read more at POOOL Filmverleih exclusive BANANAS!* website »

December 22, 2010

Fredrik interviews Steve Condie

Filed under: News — admin @ 11:58 am

Steve Condie is the lawyer representing the banana workers in the ongoing Tellez vs. Dole case. Fredrik Gertten met him this summer in Los Angeles inside LA Superiour Court and discussed what’s happening next in the case.

December 4, 2010

WG Film celebrates victory over Dole

Filed under: News — admin @ 4:54 pm

Monday afternoon, the filmmakers behind BANANAS!* celebrated at the Malmö office with friends and media. Just days ago, the LA Superiour Court decided to strike Dole’s lawsuit against the film and to grant the anti-SLAPP motion filed in defence by the filmmakers.
Read the full story here.

More photos from the celebration »
(link to WG Film’s Facebook page)

 

Congratulations from colleagues and friends:

"Fredrik, I’m happy to see that Dole will be required to reimburse your costs incurred in defending against the SLAPP suit they filed in an attempt to prevent you from showing your film, Bananas*.  Dole’s filing the SLAPP suit against you in a transparent attempt to suppress information about what that corporation has done in Central America was a major factor in convincing me to step in to defend the plaintiffs in the Tellez case.  I can only hope that your success will encourage more investigations so that more information can be brought to light about what really has happened in Nicaragua.

Dole’s scorched-earth tactic of attacking journalists, investigators and lawyers in an all-out effort to suppress the truth about what Dole and its agents have done in Central America has been frustrated by your courage in refusing to back down when attacked by an industry giant.     As Edmund Burke stated:  "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."  Keep up the good work!"

/Steve Condie
(The new lawyer who’s defending the affected workers in the Tellez case (the case featured in BANANAS!*).

 

"This is a remarkable victory for Swedish openness and democracy. Now, I hope the film’s message get the attention it deserves. As citizens, we can still influence the working conditions in poor countries and the ruthless exploitation of natural resources." (Our translation)

/Luciano Astudillo
(Ex Parliament member who arranged a screening of BANANAS!* in the Swedish parliament.)

 

US links:

Dole Hit With $200,000 Penalty Over Movie Lawsuit
Matthew Belloni
ABC News

Dole Slapped With $200K Ruling For Filing Documentary Lawsuit
Matthew Belloni
Hollywood Reporter

L.A. County judge orders Dole to pay filmmaker $200,000
Alan Zarembo
LA Times

Californian Judge Orders Dole to Pay Filmmaker $200,000
Associated Press
NY Times

 

Swedish links:

Kontroversiella Bananas!* kan visas i USA
Erik Ridderstolpe
Sveriges Radio, Ekot

Dole kan inte stämma Gertten fler gånger
Lisa Ovesen Botwid
Sydnytt, SVT

Filmen ”Bananas” vann Dole-rättegång
Erik Helmersson
Helsingborgs dagblad

Filmen ”Bananas” vann mot Dole
Erik Helmersson, Carina Jönsson, TT Spektra
Dagens nyheter

Gertten vann slutligen över Dole
Arvid Jurjaks
Sydsvenskan

Banankriget är över
Arvid Jurjaks
Sydsvenskan

Filmen ”Bananas” vann rättegång
Erik Helmersson, Carina Jönsson, TT Spektra
Svenska dagbladet

Fruit giant to dole out $200,000 over Bananas!* lawsuit
Vivian Tse
The Local

Dole-kritisk film kan visas i USA
Hannah McNeil
Nyhetskanalen, TV4

Hoover och jag
Johan Malmberg
Helsingborgs dagblad

Fredrik Gertten: ”Vi tog striden för andra filmare”
Paul Frigyes
Journalisten.se

WG Film vann över Dole
Susanne Roger
Filmnyheterna

Filmen BANANAS!* vann Dole-rättegång
Erik Helmersson/Carina Jönsson
TT Spektra

Gertten vann mot Dole
Realtid.se

 

Blogs

LA Judge Rules Dole Must Pay BANANAS!* Filmmakers for Wrongful Lawsuit
AJ Schnack
All these wonderful things (blog)

Yes, We Now Have BANANAS!* Judge Ralph Dau Rules in Favor of First Amendment and Filmmakers
moviesharkdeblore.com

En solskenshistoria: Grattis Gertten!
Mats Johansson, Member of Parliament, the Moderate Party

Så gav BANANAS!* Dole slutgiltigt på tafsen…
Alfonso Allende
Allende.se

Grattis Gertten!
Ethel Forsberg
U&W (You and We)

November 29, 2010

Court strikes lawsuit against BANANAS!*

Filed under: News — admin @ 12:03 am

Press release:
Holding that the film Bananas!*, a “documentary on the topic of [Dole’s] treatment of its workers and use of pesticides” was an exercise of the “right of free speech,” a Los Angeles Superior Court today granted an anti-SLAPP motion filed by Swedish filmmakers Fredrik Gertten, Margarete Jangàrd and their production company WG Film, and struck the defamation complaint filed by Dole Food Company, Inc.

Although Dole had voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit a year ago after defendants filed the anti-SLAPP motion, the dismissal was “without prejudice” and the threat that Dole would reinstitute the action served to thwart the distribution of the film.

In granting the motion, the Court lifted the cloud over the film, holding that Dole’s lawsuit was "what is commonly known as a SLAPP" (which stands for "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation") that lacked “minimal merit.” Indeed, the Court found that a “careful review of the film does not support Dole’s assertions” in the complaint. The Court rejected Dole’s contention that the “overall tone” and purported implications made in the film were defamatory, holding that the film accurately and fairly portrayed the events surrounding a trial that took place in Los Angeles in which Nicaraguan banana workers sued Dow Chemical and Dole for its use of a pesticide that causes sterility.

In addition to striking the lawsuit with prejudice, the Court ordered Dole to pay attorneys fees and costs in the amount of $199,959.25. This ruling comes over one year after the filmmakers filed their anti-SLAPP motion and upholds the filmmakers’ contentions that Dole’s lawsuit had no merit.

“We are extremely happy and relieved with the Court’s ruling after this year-long struggle” said director Fredrik Gertten. “Corporations such as Dole must respect freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. These conglomerates have unlimited resources available to them to get their messages out, while independent filmmakers who are under attack while trying to uncover the truth, have very limited means to defend ourselves. We are pleased that BANANAS!* can now reach a larger audience in the United States and that the important issues raised in the film such as human rights for farm workers in third world countries can continue to be discussed and debated.”

“The Court’s ruling is a complete vindication for my clients and their documentary” said the filmmakers’ lawyer, Lincoln Bandlow of Lathrop & Gage LLP in Los Angeles. “The fee award is particularly gratifying because it sends a very important message – to corporations who believe they can use their unlimited wealth and the sword of litigation to squelch speech with which they disagree – that there is a price to pay for such attacks. I’m very happy to tell my Swedish clients that the First Amendment is still alive and well in America.”

BANANAS!* is the non-fiction film centering on the issues surrounding the treatment of banana workers in Nicaragua and covers one of the many lawsuits filed by these workers against Dole and other companies regarding the adverse health effects suffered as a result of the use of the pesticide DBCP in banana fields. The film was screened in June 2009 at the Los Angeles Film Festival out of competition to sold out audiences even after Dole had tried to stop its screenings. BANANAS!* has gone on to win awards and accolades and to play to sold out audiences at over 50 film festivals throughout the world including the Berlin International Film Festival this past January. In addition, distribution rights have been sold to more than 15 countries worldwide. In the US, Oscilloscope Laboratories will distribute the film.

Downloads:

For information and press enquiries, please contact:

Lathrop & Gage LLP
Katie Hollar
Phone: +01 816 286 6385
khollar@lathropgage.com

David Magdael & Associates
Winston Emano
Phone: +01 213 624 7827
wemano@tcdm-associates.com

 

Related articles:

 

November 28, 2010

BANANAS!* under fire – a timeline

Filed under: News — admin @ 7:00 am

(Last update: December 5, 2010)

BANANAS!* was one of the most talked about documentary films of 2009. The interest from media and the support from audiences and fellow filmmakers has been overwhelming. Below is a brief outline of the events during the hectic months before and after the film’s premiere.

In mid-December 2008, Director Fredrik Gertten and editor Jesper Osmund finished editing the cinema version of BANANAS!*.

In April 2009, Dole claimed that all but one of eleven plaintiffs in two upcoming DBCP cases against Dole had never worked on banana plantations and that the plaintiffs were paid and coached by their attorneys. Several witnesses testified on videotape, sixteen of them were anonymous “John Doe” witnesses because they claimed that they feared for their lives for exposing the alleged fraud.

Judge Victoria Chaney ultimately dismissed the cases, and also said that the fraud may have connections with the Tellez case, which was the trial featured in BANANAS!*. But Judge Chaney did not, despite Dole’s request, determine that there was no merit to any claims against Dole. Rather, she found that the actions presented before her had been so tainted with fraud by some of the plaintiffs, that she could not allow the cases to continue. Indeed, as Judge Chaney stated during the April 23 hearing on the matter: “We’ll never know if anybody in Nicaragua was actually injured or harmed by the alleged wrongful conduct of the defendants, and people will never have the opportunity to learn, since this fraud is so pervasive and extensive that it has forever contaminated even our own ability to ever know the truth.”

In April 2009, BANANAS!* was selected to compete in the Los Angeles Film Festival to be held in June. The film was also initially accepted for Silverdocs in Washington D.C., but got rejected because the Los Angeles Film Festival did not allow the film to simultaneously participate in another festival, although other films did so, including Convention by A.J Schnack and October County by Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher.

On May 5th 2009, the Los Angeles Film Festival arranged a press conference and announced the program. BANANAS!* was included in documentary competition, competing for a $50,000 prize. The same day, our website (www.bananasthemovie.com) opened and the BANANAS!* trailer was published on Youtube and Vimeo. The BANANAS!* team celebrated with champagne.

On May 8th, another hearing about the fraud case was held in Los Angeles Superior Court. BANANAS!* was the subject of a discussion between Judge Victoria Chaney and Dole attorney Andrea Neuman, and the trailer for the film was showed in the court room. In regard to the film, Judge Chaney stated to those present: “Just so we are clear, I am not in any way going to make, and I will not consider, any request for prior restraint on free speech. Okay?  So, don’t ask me to go try and contact the film company. I don’t have jurisdiction over them. But even if I did, don’t ask me for it.” 

After the hearing, Dole’s law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, sent a letter to WG Film, ITVS and all of the sponsors of the Los Angeles Film Festival. Dole did not like the trailer, nor the promo material featured on the website:

“…it is clear that this film contains numerous false and defamatory statements of purported fact concerning Dole and its current and former officers and employees in connections with lawsuits brought against Dole and other defendants by plaintiffs’ attorney “Juan ‘Accidentes’ Dominguez. /…/ This letter is a formal demand that you immediately cease and desist making false and defamatory statements of purported fact regarding our clients, and that you immediately publish prominent reactions of the same. Failure to do so will subject you to legal action.”

Neither Dole nor their attorneys had seen the completed film – they had only seen the trailer. “Strange things happens in LA. Mighty forces showing arms”, Gertten twittered.

Five days later, WG Film’s U.S. lawyer, Richard J. Lee, wrote in response to Dole’s letter: “The film is a balanced documentary of a trial based on actual events. Most of the factual information contained in the film is stated by its subjects, not by the filmmaker, who is essentially acting as a reporter.”

On May 11th, the global BANANAS!* team was expanded with publicist David Magdael in Los Angeles. “Conference call on Skype: Malmö, St Johns, Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Portland. Totally BANANAS!*”, Gertten twittered.

On May 14th, Dole’s lawyers sent a second “cease and desist” letter, still trying to shut down a film they had not seen. We responded by offering tickets to the LA premiere on June 20th.

May 18th, The BANANAS!* group on Facebook opened.

On June 5th, based on threats from Dole of possible legal action against the festival, the Los Angeles Film Festival moved BANANAS!* out of competition. Instead, a “special case study screening” was arranged, with a post-screening discussion with Gertten.

The same day, Dole’s lawyers sent a letter to the Swedish ambassador in Washington, asking him to stop the film: “We respectfully ask that the Consulate General withdraw its endorsement of this defamatory film, and that the Swedish Embassy take other appropriate steps to limit its damaging impact”.

Two weeks later, on June 22, Luciano Astudillo, a member of the Swedish parliament sent a public letter to the Swedish Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt: Does the Minister for Foreign Affairs intend to, in an appropriate way, protest against the fact that an American transnational corporation uses Swedish government authorities to stop the screening of a Swedish documentary?”

In a reply dated July 3, Bildt wrote that he did not plan to take action, since he had been informed that the Consulate General in Los Angeles supported all Swedish films in the festival and that they did not try to stop BANANAS!*.

On June 8th, the Los Angeles Business Journal published a story about BANANAS!* entitled ”The Big Slip-Up” with the sub headline “Documentary on lawyer needs fact-check.” The Los Angeles Business Journal, however, clearly did not conduct any fact-checking on its own article, let alone the film, because nobody at the Los Angeles Business Journal had seen the film. Following the article, Gertten stated in a press release: “In answer to the question of whether my film is fraudulent, I cannot see that it is.  Everything I filmed is the truth and how this all played out during this trial.  The most important evidence in the case is a letter between Standard Fruit Company (now Dole) and Dow Chemicals. This is hard evidence and was not something that I made up.”

On June 8th, a news team from Swedish National Television (SVT) interviewed Fredrik Gertten. Shortly after the story was broadcast, the reporter was contacted by Dole’s PR firm, Gibraltar Associates in Washington D.C. Three days later, another interview was made by the same team, now with the focus on the fraud accusations, including a telephone interview with Michael Carter, Dole’s Executive Vice President. The story was broadcast on prime time national SVT news.

On June 12th, the BANANAS!* team celebrated producer Margarete Jangård’s birthday with a tropical banana bar party in a rainy Malmö. “I just booked a film team to cover my Los Angeles totally BANANAS!* adventure. If the shit comes down, it will at least be on camera” Gertten wrote on Facebook.

On June 15th, Gertten’s twitter read “have we been slapped?” A “SLAPP” is an acronym for “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation”, which is a lawsuit whose aim is not to legitimately pursue a grievance but, rather, to intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense in the hopes that they will abandon their criticism or opposition. See Wikipedia article »

On June 16th, we published an open letter to the international documentary community: “As we move forward, we hope you as our allies in the international documentary community will throw your support behind us. Dole and their counsel’s interference with us, ITVS, the Festival, and their sponsors represent a serious threat to independent documentary production.”

The same day, Gertten left for Los Angeles. ”Two interviews; radio and newspaper, whilst carrying my bag and stuff to the airport. Now a nice coffee at Copenhagen Airport”, he twittered.

On June 19th, Dole published a video response to the BANANAS!* trailer on Youtube. It was first named simply “Dole trailer” but was later renamed to “DBCP: A Conspiracy of Fraud.”

“One day to go for the totally BANANAS!* experience. Meeting with the festival lawyer soon. The heat is on, how will all this end? Don’t ever take freedom of speech for granted.” (Gertten on Facebook).

The festival board and its lawyer presented a proposition to Gertten and the producers: “If you just show clips from the film tomorrow, we can provide financial support for a new film, a grand opening, and distribution in the U.S.” We declined the offer.

June 20th – premiere day. Just hours before the screening, the Film Independent board held an internal screening, and discussed what to do. They decided to proceed, and BANANAS!* was screened at the UCLA James Bridges Theatre. In the last minute, however, BANANAS!* was pulled out from the Audience Award. Festival volunteers even had to re-collect the voting ballets from the sitting audience.

Before the screening, the executive director of Film Independent, Dawn Hudson, read a statement addressing why the film was removed from competition. Gertten then showed Dole’s video response to the BANANAS!* trailer and held a speech about the importance of free speech and the balance between different voices.

Dole Executive Vice President Michael C. Carter attended the screening. He left instantly after the screening, before the panel discussion and debate had even began.

“Two hours and twenty minutes before the screening we got the green light from the festival board. The film was screened. At least ten people from Dole in the audience, taking notes. The audience loved the film. The debate was insane, but I loved it. Just spent 1500 dollars on the party the Swedish consulate promised to give. Before Dole started to send letters.” (Gertten on Facebook).

Before the screening, a petition for BANANAS!* was arranged by other filmmakers participating in the festival: ”We strongly feel that as artists one has the right and freedom to show their work despite how others might feel about the content. Thank you for sustaining the integrity of the Fesitval by showing BANANAS!* tonight.”

The petition continues online and is still active. Sign the petition »

June 22
“Woke up with heavy intense knocks on my door. Somebody calling my name. So now the shit has hit the fan. Shall I receive the papers smiling or shall I kick them? …It was a guy from the reception, somebody was trying to call my room, and the phone didn’t work. Five minutes later I went live on Radio Kristianstad back home. Good Morning LA.” (Gertten on Facebook).

June 23
The film was screened again in LA. “The drama continues. Received a new letter from Dole, where they urged us to not screen the film again. We did, and the house was sold out again. Great screening, with the same strange set up around it. When Juan Dominguez’s brother raised his voice, the room got silenced. A passionate defense for his brother, he made a few very strong points.” (Gertten on Facebook).

Dole attended the screening on June 20, and in their third letter, dated June 23, they points to several alleged “undeniable and fatal problems” in the film. They reference the free speech discussion that evolved before the screening and also provide Gertten with an idea for an alternative film version: “The irony is that the latest developments in Judge Chaney’s courtroom provide the makings of a truly dramatic and important film: a U.S. lawyer who goes to Nicaragua, exploits poor, uneducated Nicaraguan citizens, foments political unrest against his own country as part of a massive conspiracy to manufacture false claims for billions of dollars and commit fraud on the U.S. courts. /…/ Given all of this, with some re-editing, re-writing, and re-shooting to focus on the truth, it seems you could have produced a truly compelling film”

On June 24th, Dole (using the legal process still ongoing before Judge Chaney) issued subpoenas to the Los Angeles Film Festival and ITVS, demanding that they provide to Dole all business records pertaining to BANANAS!*. One week later, Gertten wrote a letter to Film Independent director Dawn Hudson, asking her not to submit to the demands of the subpoena: ”To cede to the demands of the subpoena without fighting them would truly hurt the integrity of the organization as the supporter of the independent filmmaker, and of free speech. Further, this could very well set a dangerous precedent in how outside parties handle legal actions toward films presented at the Los Angeles Film Festival and films associated with Film Independent.”

June 26
“News chopper in the air three blocks away from my hotel. King of pop is dead. So sad. Last coffee at Profeta before leaving Westwood and Los Angeles. A very special and totally BANANAS!* experience is over. Hopefully!”, Gertten twittered.

June 29
“The Mexican film "Those Who Remain" won the doc jury award. In their speech they asked everybody to toast for me and BANANAS!*. Very sweet. Viva Mexico and big thanks to the Ambulante Film Festival, amor y solidaridad”, Gertten twittered.

On July 7th, Dole filed a civil lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against WG Film, director Gertten and producer Margarete Jangård over the LA screenings of BANANAS!*. The lawsuit claims that the film defames Dole.

On July 9th, our lawyer Richard J. Lee issued a statement about the lawsuit, saying: "My clients and I believe that this suit is without merit and represents the latest in a continued line of intimidating harassment by a multinational corporation aimed squarely at a small, independent film and its filmmakers.

On July 24th, The BANANAS!* fan page on Facebook was launched.

On July 28th, we retained First Amendment specialist Lincoln Bandlow of Lathrop & Gage to defend us against Dole. In a press release, Bandlow said: "Dole does not want the [BANANAS!*] release to happen because it wants discussion about its DBCP practices to simply go away. We are confident the court will not allow Dole to use this meritless lawsuit to accomplish that goal".

July 31
Dole’s PR firm, Gibraltar Associates, continued to send letters to Swedish journalists. The Swedish news site Realtid.se published one of them.

August 1 – 2
BANANAS!* was pre-screened two evenings in a row during the Båstad Film Festival. Both screenings sold out. Several Swedish journalists wrote what they thought about the film and the lawsuit. Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter interviewed Dole lawyer Ted Boutrous in a widely read article entitled “BANANAS!* is a lie” – a quote from Boutrous (published August 5th).

On August 7th, the website Makthavare.se published a story about Dole’s PR tactics related to BANANAS!*. In the article, several Swedish PR experts describe Dole’s actions as “a total PR failure”.

On August 13th, internationally acclaimed filmmakers Kim Longinotto, Hubert Sauper and Robert Kenner expressed their support to director Fredrik Gertten and BANANAS!* in Swedish daily Sydsvenskan. Kim Longinotto wrote in an email to Sydsvenskan: “I hope they don’t succeed in silencing [Gertten]. These large companies are accustomed to getting their will through. Therefore, it’s inspiring for the rest of us when someone dares to stand up and question their actions. /…/ The fact that a powerful multinational corporation is trying to discourage the filmmaker illustrates the power of this film. Fredrik has scared them.” (Our translation). Read more »

On August 23rd, a campaign aimed at raising awareness about the BANANAS!* case and to activate supporters around the Swedish premiere was launched. Join the BANANAS!* Free Speech Campaign »

On August 24th, The German Documentary Association (AG DOK) sent a letter to Dole. Thomas Frickel, CEO of AG DOK strongly criticized Dole’s attempts to silence BANANAS!*, and demanded that they immediately should cease their attack on the film and the freedom of information. Otherwise, he would officially ask the 850 members of AG DOK to use their contacts and resources to produce critical films and news reports about Dole and its methods.

On August 25th, Malmö Filmdagar opened – a festival where the film industry screens their work to each other and to the press. BANANAS!* was screened twice. A press conference with lawyer Lincoln Bandlow was held using a Skype video feed. The journalists, most of them surprised and puzzled by the Dole lawsuit after seeing the film, asked questions directly to Bandlow.

On September 2nd, the Swedish division of Reporters Without Borders condemned the BANANAS!* lawsuit on their website and launched an online petition – a letter to be sent to the Dole headquarters.

On September 8th, Swedish medical journal Läkartidningen published a story about DBCP, the pesticide under scope in the trial portrayed in BANANAS!*. The article evaluates the studies being made about the toxic effects of DBCP, and reveals that the producers, Dow Chemicals and Shell, played down a test result from as early as 1962, where scientists had detected sperm damage in rats and recommended highly protective gear while applying the chemical. This information did not make it to the warning signs on the product labels.

On September 11th, Dole’ executive vice president, Michael Carter, was interviewed in Swedish daily Sydsvenskan. Regarding the BANANAS!* lawsuit, he was quoted saying: ”Let [Gertten] fight. I know what will happen here. He will lose, he will definitely lose.”

Later the same day, we responded the Dole lawsuit by filing an Anti-SLAPP Motion and a Cross-Complaint. SLAPP is an acronym for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation and allows the court to dismiss meritless lawsuits filed for the purpose of stifling protected speech (read Wiki article »).

As set forth in the motion, Dole’s lawsuit simply seeks to “poison the fountain of free speech” by intimidating anyone who speaks out on this important issue of public concern who does not comport with Dole’s “spin” on recent events pertaining to DBCP litigation.

In addition to filing an Anti-SLAPP Motion, we also filed a Cross-Complaint against Dole, seeking to recover damages for Dole’s improper tactics in interfering with the film’s premiere and its participation in the Los Angeles Film Festival. Read more »

On September 29, an opinion piece was published in Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, signed by chairmen of three major Swedish film organizations. Håkan Tidlund, chairman of the Swedish Film Institute was one of them. In the article, they urged Dole to withdraw their lawsuit against BANANAS!*: “The foundations of an open society are poisoned when journalists, writers, artists and filmmakers have to work under the threat of being sued every time a financially strong party is examined.” Read more »

On the same day, a letter was sent to Swedish MPs Mats Johansson (m) and Luciano Astudillo (s), who had invited director Fredrik Gertten to screen BANANAS!* in the Swedish parliament on October 1. The news about this meeting had reached Michael Carter, Executive Vice President of Dole, who sent a letter to Johansson and Astudillo. In the letter, Carter provides Dole’s perspective on BANANAS!* and “a more complete understanding, given the October 1 screening”. Read more »

On October 1, BANANAS!* was screened in a fully booked meeting room in the Swedish parliament. After the screening, MPs Mats Johansson and Luciano Astudillo launched a cross-party petition, collecting names in the Parliament. In the petition they are asking Dole to withdraw their lawsuit. The will to defend free speech was overwhelming from politicians from left to right, and the story got widely spread in Swedish media. In an interview with SVT News, Fredrik Gertten said: “The fact that the parliament is screening this film is an important symbolic gesture. We often take freedom of speech for granted, but obvious things must also be defined and formulated. The parliament members who took the initiative to this screening are doing just that, they are formulating why it is important to defend this movie. And I am incredibly happy about that.” Read more »

One week later, Johansson and Astudillo sent a reply to Michael Carter’s letter. They were not impressed by Dole’s PR tactics, and continued to collect names, asking Dole to withdraw their lawsut.

On October 5, the CEO of Swedish hamburger chain Max said that they had stopped selling Dole fruit salads. A blogger had informed them about the lawsuit against BANANAS!*. “We don’t like Dole’s actions. Suing a filmmaker instead of having a dialogue is despicable,” said Max CEO Richard Bergfors to the Realtid.se news website.

On October 6, Dagens Nyheter published a two-page Sunday story entitled “Why is Dole suing a filmmaker?”. The story was written by Dan Koeppel, who connects the suing of BANANAS!* with a century of banana industry history. Koeppel is the author of the book ”Banana. The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World”. Read the story in english »

October 8
Grandiose Gala premiere in Malmö with wine, music and speeches. Over 600 people saw BANANAS!* on Swedens largest cinema screen. Fredrik Gertten on Facebook: “Now very very tired after the gala premiere, early morning radio tomorrow, Fair Trade panel, interview with ARTE news from Berlin and then the great premiere broadcasted to cinemas around the country. Need some sleep, will get it one day.”

The same day, The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), who represents over 600,000 journalists in 123 countries worldwide, condemned Dole’s lawsuit. "The company’s action is designed to legitimise censorship," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "We condemn the use of law to try to evade media scrutiny and public accountability. It is an unforgiveable violation of free speech." Read more »

On October 9, BANANAS!* had its Swedish premiere. Over 20 cinemas all over Sweden screened the film simultaneously. After the screening, Fredrik Gertten was interviewed by Orvar Säfström at Spegeln Cinema in Malmö. The interview was broadcasted live, and audiences all over Sweden could send questions via SMS. Over 400 questions were received. A recording of this Q&A will be included on the BANANAS!* DVD, with planned release in December, 2009.

The same morning, reviews were published in all major Swedish newspapers. Dagens Nyheter, Sydsvenskan, Aftonbladet and Expressen all gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Read more »

On October 15, BANANAS!* was once again discussed in the Swedish parliament, this time on government level. The Swedish minister of culture, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, met with Fredrik Gertten, free speech lawyer Percy Bratt and MPs Mats Johansson and Luciano Astudillo to get a deeper insight into the matter.

The story about the Max hamburger boycott (see October 5) had spread to news media all over Sweden, and journalists started contacting major food grocers ICA, Coop and Axood for comments. In an interview with Swedish news agency TT, a representative from ICA said that they had contacted Dole and demanded to have a talk about the film and the situation. In relation to the meeting with the Swedish minister of culture, Johansson and Astudillo therefore invited representatives from Coop, ICA and Axfood to an informal lunch in the parliament.

The same day, Dole withdrew their lawsuit. In a press release, Dole said they had made their decision in light of the free speech concerns being expressed in Sweden, although they continues to believe in the merits of its case. "While the filmmakers continue to show a film that is fundamentally flawed and contains many false statements we look forward to an open discussion with the filmmakers regarding the content of the film," said Michael Carter, Dole’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Read more »

Fredrik Gertten on Facebook: “Dole is withdrawing the lawsuit. We still don’t know the conditions. We still have a counterclaim that has to be resolved. Journalists start calling. But I’m still going to Stockholm to meet to minister of culture.”

On October 29, director Fredrik Gertten, producer Margarete Jangård and WG Film withdrew their counterclaim against Dole. However, they asked the court to compel Dole to pay the fees and costs incurred to defend the lawsuit. 

In a press release, attorney Lincoln Bandlow said that “the law is clear that Dole cannot file its action, compel defendants to incur significant expense in having to file an anti-SLAPP motion to have the case thrown out, and then just slink away with a voluntary dismissal while the motion is pending and not pay for its actions. The lawsuit should never have been filed – Dole has to pay the price for filing it.  Whether Dole will have to answer for the additional and significant damage it caused the makers of the film to suffer will be a question that may get revisited some other day.”

Fredrik Gertten said: ”having successfully compelled Dole to end their legal assault on the film, we are now focusing our efforts on getting the film out to the world.  Once we catch our breath from working on overcoming the harm initially caused by Dole’s tactics, we will reevaluate reinstituting our action against Dole.” Read more »

January 25, 2010
After months of silence, a new plaintiffs’ lawyer in the Tellez case filed a motion in the California Superior Court which seriously contested Dole’s allegations of fraud in the Nicaraguan DBCP cases. The new lawyer, Steve Condie, writes that Judge Victoria Chaney’s dismissal of all upcoming DBCP cases was not only unfair, but also a distraction from the genuine claim involving Dole’s use of DBCP.

In the motion, Condie writes that at least four of the anonymous “John Doe” witnesses were paid by Dole and that four more had their own personal motives to slander American lawyers involved in DBCP litigation in Nicaragua. And since the “John Doe” witnesses were anonymous, it’s practically impossible to double check their statements, which is unfair.

Condie concludes that none of Dole’s evidence in the fraud case is reliable or unbiased: ”there is no credible evidence suggesting that any fraudulent activities engaged in Nicaragua by anyone had any impact or effect on the trial in this case“.

On February 15, Oscilloscope Laboratories, a New York based film production and theatrical distribution company, picked up the US rights to BANANAS!*. However, WG Film’s insurance company could not protect Oscilloscope from further lawsuits from Dole. WG Film’s anti-SLAPP motion was still pending in court, and the grant of the motion was necessary to clear the film and to enable full US distribution.

The grant of the anti-SLAPP motion was also important for another distributor, The Independent Television Service (ITVS). They could not provide the film to broadcasters until they were sure the insurance company could cover them.

In May 2010, Nicaraguan newspaper El Nuevo Diario published a series of articles providing alternative stories about Dole’s actions in the Tellez case. The first article starts off during a press conference in Managua, where seven former banana workers said Dole bribed or tricked them to witness against the affected plaintiffs’. Read more »

On June 15, BANANAS!* won the audience award at the Environmental Film Festival in Goiás, Brazil (FICA). Read more »

In June, director Fredrik Gertten once again travelled to Los Angeles for a special screening of BANANAS!*. The screening was held the night before the final anti-SLAPP hearing. Dole did however manage to postpone the hearing until August 19. The Anti-SLAPP statute specifically states that a hearing on an Anti-SLAPP motion should be heard no later than 30 days from filing – yet it had been nine months since the motion was filed.

In a Q&A preceding the hearing, Gertten said "the hearing is reduced to fight over lawyers fees and if we win the money will not reach us. It’s for the insurance company and our lawyers. But it is important for all filmmakers and journalists that the judge comes out with a clear verdict: Dole did wrong. Suing a filmmaker is an attack of freedom of speech and press /…/ Hopefully the judge will make the same conclusion". Read the full Q&A »

On October 22, the final anti-SLAPP hearing was held after a long series of postponed dates. The hearing was a success for Fredrik Gertten, Margarete Jangård and WG Film, but the written ruling was not released until one month later.
Download the anti-SLAPP hearing transscript »

On November 17, the written ruling was finally released. The Los Angeles Superior Court granted the anti-SLAPP motion filed by Fredrik Gertten, Margarete Jangård and WG Film, and struck the defamation complaint filed by Dole. The Court found that a “careful review of the film did not support Dole’s assertions” in the complaint. In addition to striking the lawsuit with prejudice, the Court ordered Dole to pay attorneys fees and costs in the amount of $200,000.

"The Court’s ruling is a complete vindication for my clients and their documentary" said the filmmakers’ lawyer, Lincoln Bandlow. "The fee award is particularly gratifying because it sends a very important message – to corporations who believe they can use their unlimited wealth and the sword of litigation to squelch speech with which they disagree – that there is a price to pay for such attacks. I’m very happy to tell my Swedish clients that the First Amendment is still alive and well in America."

Director Fredrik Gertten said: "We are pleased that BANANAS!* can now reach a larger audience in the United States and that the important issues raised in the film such as human rights for farm workers in third world countries can continue to be discussed and debated."

Read more about the ruling »
Download the full anti-SLAPP ruling »

July 13, 2010

UK DVD out now

Filed under: News — admin @ 1:42 pm

Listen up UK fans! Dogwoof now brings BANANAS!* to the UK shelves.

The DVD comes in an eco-friendly Dogwoof DVD sleeve and contains an exclusive interview with director Fredrik Gertten, trailers and the short film Pictures from a Banana Plantation.

Find out just what Dole wanted to repress by getting hold of one of the most talked about documentary films of recent years on DVD today.

UK Fans: Order now in the Dogwoof shop »

July 5, 2010

BANANAS!* one of the winners at Ecofilms

Filed under: News — admin @ 10:58 am

BANANAS!* won second prize in the "feature length" category at the Ecofilms festival 2010 in Rodos, Greece.

Words from the jury:
"A surprisingly well told story of killer capitalism told as a haunting legal thriller and a gripping court room drama. A gripping drama of poor workers in Nicaragua that try to get justice in THE court rooms of Los Angeles against powerful multinationals. A suspenseful saga of David and Goliath in a world where justice does not always come to those who need or deserve it."

The prize was shared with The Peddler by the Argentineans Eduardo de la Serna, Lucas Marcheggiano and Adriana Yurcovich.

1st prize was awarded Garbage Dreams by Egyptian director Mai Iskander. Other films in the category included Space Tourists by Oscar nominated directior Christian Frei and Seed Warriors by Mirjam von Arx.

Rodοs International Films + Visual Arts Festival Ecofilms, invites the participation of documentaries, shorts and features with environmental and ecology themes, encouraging conservation issues and issues related with the natural, the human and the built environment. Prizes are awarded to the films for their innovative approach in conservation issues for their daring proposal in subject matter and their artistic qualities overall.

June 23, 2010

Court allows Dole to once again postpone the hearing date in the BANANAS!* case

Filed under: News — admin @ 12:39 am

Dole has requested to postpone the hearing in the BANANAS!* case that was supposed to be held this week. The new date will be August 19. This despite the fact that the Anti-SLAPP statute specifically states that a hearing on that kind of motion should be heard no later than 30 days from filing – yet it has been nine months since the motion was filed.

Dole dropped their lawsuit against BANANAS!* in October 2009, but there were still issues to resolve. We pointed out that even though Dole had dropped the lawsuit, we were still entitled to a ruling on our Anti-SLAPP motion and to an award of the legal fees incurred in defending against Dole’s action.

The hearing on these matters have been constantly rescheduled, and no less than five different Judges have been assigned to the case in the year that it has been pending. The first four judges either recused themselves or were taken off the case for various reasons, but since November 18 2009, Judge Dau has been the judge in the matter.

On December 22, 2009, we filed a separate motion setting forth the attorneys’ fees that we seek to recover. Thus, the Anti-SLAPP motion and the motion for fees were set for hearing on January 14, 2010. Dole requested that this date be moved and we agreed to move the hearing to January 28, 2010. A long series of court-imposed delays then followed. The January hearing was first postponed to March – and then to June.

On June 13, Dole requested to postpone the hearing to July 14, 2010, saying that they wanted to wait until after the hearings were completed in the Tellez matter. We refused to stipulate on the grounds that the Tellez hearings are irrelevant to our motions and we had waited far too long for a ruling as it was. Dole brought a motion to move the date despite our objections and suggested July 14, but at the hearing on the motion, Judge Dau indicated he was “not prepared to rule on the matter” and instead suggested August 19.

So here we are after countless delays and weird circumstances. The Anti-SLAPP statute specifically states that a hearing on an Anti-SLAPP motion should be heard no later than 30 days from filing – yet it has been nine months since the motion was filed. Beyond that – the Los Angeles Superior Court rules state that the court should try to dispose of an entire case within one year from the date of its filing – yet by the time the hearing is held, the action will have been pending for a year and two months. This delay is, of course, all in favor to Dole, who always tries to either postpone their court hearings or shift the debate away from themselves and on to irrelevant issues. This time, their main strategy seems to be postponing the case long enough to make the judge feel that the case has gone cold. We will of course not allow this to happen.

Related articles:

June 18, 2010

Q&A with Fredrik Gertten about facing Dole in court

Filed under: News — admin @ 2:15 pm

In a few days, BANANAS!* director Fredrik Gertten is flying from Sweden to Los Angeles to face Dole in court. One year has passed since Gertten, producer Margarete Jangård and their company WG Film got sued by Dole for screening the film in Los Angeles.
 
Q: What are going through your head, one year after Dole attacked your film and one week before your day in court?
A: I am looking forward to leave all this behind us. I have now consumed a lifetime use of lawyers. I have learnt a lot, it has been stressful but also very interesting. Now I would like to move forward. To the next project. And maybe some holidays.
 
Q: Didn’t Dole drop the lawsuit against you and BANANAS!*, why are you going to a court hearing?
A: Yes, Dole dropped the lawsuit, but our counterclaim, the so-called SLAPP motion will now have its day in court. The hearing is reduced to fight over lawyers fees and if we win the money will not reach us. It’s for the insurance company and our lawyers. But it is important for all filmmakers and journalists that the judge comes out with a clear verdict: DOLE did wrong. Suing a filmmaker is an attack of freedom of speech and press, the very fundament of the bill of rights and the first amendment. Democracy needs free press and documentary filmmakers. Hopefully the judge will make the same conclusion.
 
Q: Why do you have to be there in person?
A: I don’t need to. It’s all a matter between lawyers. But if I can make it I would love to.
 
Q: What are your chances? Do you think the Judge will make Dole pay your legal fees?
A:  I think the judge will understand how uneven this fight has been. Our lawyers fees have exceeded 300 000 dollars. It is not possible for a small production company to defend it self when it is so expensive. Many filmmakers would  give up without even trying. The judge only needs to see the film once to understand that DOLE was wrong. But I prefer of course that he also reads our SLAPP motion. It is a very good piece of work and will make anyone understand that DOLE has nothing more than tons of words.
 
Q: What is your dream scenario?
A: If we are successful, the Judge will tell Dole that they were wrong and made a mistake. This would be an important victory for us. Not financially, but in principle. A court order saying that Dole made a mistake would prove what we’ve been saying for a year now, and a victory in a Californian court room would be a victory on Dole’s home ground.
 
Q: Will this hearing be a part of a long legal process, or is this it?
A: I am no expert. It can be the end. But as always there’s a possibility of appeals. It can go on for years.
 
Q: You are also doing a “special screening” of BANANAS!* the night before the court hearing, what makes it special?
A: I will be there to answer questions, and so will our excellent attorney, Lincoln Bandlow. One year later after the turmoil at last year’s LA Film Festival, I am glad that the public can see the film that Dole didn’t want anyone to see. We are pleased that our US distributor Oscilloscope is screening this film for the public at this time before the DVD comes out, so that everyone can see for themselves. With Chevron coming on down on my fellow filmmaker Joe Berlinger for his film CRUDE and Dole suing us for BANANAS!*, it’s become even more difficult for documentary filmmakers to defend ourselves and continue to make nonfiction stories about those who have been wronged. Despite all of Dole’s effort to halt our film, to date we have screened at over 50 festivals worldwide and sold the film to over 10 countries for television and theatrical exhibition.
 
Q: Finally, will there be time for a drink at the beach?
A: If not a drink, a swim. My 13 year old son will travel with me, so I am doing my best to enjoy life. It’s a privilege to be a documentary filmmaker. And a father.

 

The special screening of BANANAS!* will take place at the Downtown Independent Theatre on Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 7PM and 9PM.  The theatre is located on 251 Main Street in downtown Los Angeles, CA 90012.

June 16, 2010

The return to Los Angeles – court hearing and special screening

Filed under: News — admin @ 2:44 pm

BANANAS!* comes back to Los Angeles for one time screenings on June 23, 2010. Oscilloscope Laboratories presents theatrical screening at the Downtown Independent theater on eve of filmmaker trial.

Press release:

LOS ANGELES, CA – The infamous documentary BANANAS!* comes back to Los Angeles for a one night theatrical screening on the eve of the trial between Dole Food Company and filmmaker Fredrik Gertten. Both filmmaker Gertten and his attorney Lincoln Bandlow will be in attendance at the screening to discuss the film following each screening on June 23 in downtown Los Angeles.

After last year’s highly controversial screening at the Los Angeles Film Festival amid threats of lawsuits, Dole Food Company sued director Gertten and his production company WG Film. However, Dole withdrew the lawsuit after Gertten’s home country, Sweden and its Parliament, signed a petition demanding Dole to withdraw the lawsuit on the basis of freedom of speech. Next Thursday, June 24, following the Los Angeles screening, Gertten will have his day in court against Dole, as he filed a SLAPP motion.

"One year later after the turmoil at last year’s LA Film Festival, I am glad that the public can see the film that Dole Food Company didn’t want anyone to see," said filmmaker Gertten. "We are pleased that our US distributor Oscilloscope Laboratories is screening this film for the public at this time before the DVD comes out, so that everyone can see for themselves. With Chevron coming on down on my fellow filmmaker Joe Berlinger for his film CRUDE and Dole suing us for BANANAS!*, it’s become even more difficult for documentary filmmakers to defend ourselves and continue to make nonfiction stories about those who have been wronged. Despite all of Dole’s effort to halt our film, to date we have screened at over 50 festivals worldwide and sold the film to over 10 countries for television and theatrical exhibition."

This special screening of BANANAS!* takes place on Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 7PM and 9PM at the Downtown Independent Theatre located at 251 Main Street in downtown Los Angeles, CA 90012.

The film has screened with critical acclaim in theaters and on television in Sweden, France, England, and Germany and other countries. BANANAS!* is a multi-layered courtroom drama delving into the global politics of food, the dynamics of First and Third world nations, and ultimately, human rights at the basest of levels.

Directed by investigative journalist Fredrik Gertten, BANANAS!* focuses on a landmark and highly controversial legal case pitting a dozen Nicaraguan plantation workers against Dole Food Corporation and its alleged use of a banned pesticide with a probable link to generations of sterilized workers. Juan "Accidentes" Dominguez, a Los Angeles-based personal injury attorney, leads the charge in this classic David vs. Goliath story at times both infuriating and inspirational of workers, their families as well as the culture of global, multinational business. Cameras inside the court and interviews with Dominguez and the plaintiffs take the audience directly to the story.

Experts and companies all over the world have followed this case. If Dominguez is successful, it could rock the economic foundations of Dole and Dow, and would open the US courts to other global victims of US-based multinationals. It would represent a new day in international justice, and there are further cases of a similar nature coming up next in many jurisdictions.

For more information on the screening go to:
Downtown Independent’s website »

Background on the lawsuit againt BANANAS!*:
BANANAS!* background » (1 page PDF)
BANANAS!* under fire – a timeline »
(full timeline)

 

For press enquiries, please contact:

David Magdael & Associates
Winston Emano
Phone: +01 213 624 7827
wemano@tcdm-associates.com

 

June 15, 2010

BANANAS!* wins Audience Award at FICA – exclusive report

Filed under: News — admin @ 8:28 pm

 

Olá, amigos do BANANAS!*

Bart here, back in Canada after a great experience at FICA Environmental Film Festival in Goiás, Brazil – where we won the Audience Award for favourite film.

The city of Goiás (officially Goiás Velho) is a wonderful spot, about 4 hours west from the capital of Brasilia. It’s incredibly hot in June (at least for Swedes and Canadians), somewhere around 35 degrees during the day but almost zero humidity – and about 500m above sea level.

Once the capital of the state, it’s now a UNESCO world heritage site and an example of the old colonial cities of Brazil.

You wouldn’t expect a film festival to take over such a town, but that’s exactly what it did – the whole region came out to take in the films, discussions, and cultural events organized by our wonderful hosts at the festival office.

Screenings were held in 3-hour blocks, and we screened at 2pm on Thursday to a busy theatre. School kids came in and there was a bit of buzzing and chatting during the screening…great that there was a lot of access to these films, but I must admit the noise made me anxious that the general audience wasn’t going to follow the important details of the film.

I guess I shouldn’t have worried – from the 28 films in official competition (all lengths and genres, including Oscar®-winner The Cove), the audience chose us as best film. Very flattering, and a great burst of energy for our production team after dealing with lawsuits, misinformed US media articles and a halted release strategy. Most importantly, it keeps the spotlight on the conditions of the workers in Chinandega. The win is already reported in the Nicaraguan press.

Audience Awards are always the best award to win. They rarely come with money attached (and with WG Film’s court costs, money could have helped!) – but they do what no other award can – they show that the film really struck a chord with the general viewership.

Documentarians work in alone or in small groups, and we always appreciate honest feedback. Getting a statement like this from the heartland of the largest country in Latin America is proof that the film is doing its job – and we hope this is a good step toward larger exposure in the central and southern hemisphere.

Finally, a big shout-out to our editor Jesper Osmund, who not only was part of the BANANAS!* win – he was also editor of Jakob Gottschau and Øyvind Hesselager’s Bringing Life To Space, which won the award for Best Series. Congrats J-man!

 

Tchau and obrigado to all,

Bart

 

Dole – proud sponsor of the term “Fredrik Gertten”

Filed under: News — admin @ 8:01 pm

If you do a search on the term “DBCP” on google.com, Dole shows up in the “sponsored links” sidebar. If you mention DBCP in an article published on a site containing Google ads, the same ad shows up again. The link is called “Dole DBCP Facts”.

DBCP is a chemical formerly used in pesticides, the same chemical under scope in the recent banana pesticide trials. In 2007, Dole was sentenced to pay punitive damages to six workers claiming to have been sterilized by DBCP (this is the case featured in the film BANANAS!*).

Apparently, Dole is paying Google to be on top of the search results when users are trying to find information about the trials and DBCP.

However, if you do a search on the term “Fredrik Gertten”, the director of BANANAS!*, you get the same results. This probably means that Dole is paying for the keywords “Fredrik Gertten”. This also means every time someone writes something (a word is enough) about Gertten and BANANAS!*, the same link appears in the “ads by Google” space included on thousands of websites.

How does it work?
Dole is using an automated ad system called AdSense. If you want to use the system on your site, you reserve some space for Google, and the system recognizes keywords in the content of your site and places ads that match your content. Ideally, an article about bananas has ads about bananas.

On the other end, if you want to sell bananas, you use a service called AdWords. You invest in the word "bananas", and if that word appears in a text online, there is a chance your ad pops up. To set this up, you need to tell Google you’d like to spend a certain sum of money on your keyword, let’s say a $100. This sum is now your investment budget. As soon as someone clicks on your ad, a small amount of this budget is used. The more money you invest in your ad words, the more often they show. In the end, the site owner gets paid by Google for providing the ad space.

So where do you end up if you click on Dole’s ad?
It’s always the same link, an ad called Dole DBCP Facts, a page that doesn’t really contain any facts about the pesticide DBCP. Instead, it’s a list of Dole’s court documents related to the banana pesticide cases and the lawsuit against BANANAS!*. Sure, this is a nice little initiative in corporate transparency, but there is one big problem: where are all responses to Dole’s documents? We replied to every single cease-and-desist-letter they sent to us that are listed there. 

A few examples of where you might find Dole’s ad:
BANANAS!* trailer on vimeo »
BANANAS!* profile on IMDB »
Los Angeles Times article about BANANAS!* »

 

Read more
Bananas about "Bananas!*"
Pidde Andersson, Xomba.com
June 13, 2010

Google går bananas (in Swedish)
Andreas Ekström, Sydsvenskan
May 29, 2010

Smutskastningen kan börja (in Swedish)
Andreas Ekström, Journalisten.se
May 26, 2010

 

Related articles on this site:
When Fredrik Gertten held a speech at the LA premiere, he mentioned the sponsored links. Watch the speech here »

The BANANAS!* lawsuit »
(All documents related to the lawsuit against BANANAS!*)

The letters from Dole »
(The cease-and-desist letters preceding the lawsuit)

 

June 7, 2010

DVD to be released in the UK

Filed under: News — admin @ 10:40 am

The BANANAS!* fever in the UK continues with the DVD release on July 12th, just in time for a Long-Doc-Summer. The film ships with an eco-friendly Dogwoof DVD sleeve, an exclusive interview with director Fredrik Gertten, trailers and the short film Pictures from a banana plantation.

In the meantime, don’t miss the UK cinema screenings:

Edinburgh Filmhouse
Edinburgh, June 7-10

Cardiff Chapter Cinema
Canton, June 28 – July 1

Read more at the Dogwoof website »

 

May 25, 2010

Fraud case witnesses: ”Dole bribed us”

Filed under: News — admin @ 3:24 pm

The legal battle between Dole Food and Nicaraguan banana workers continues. In 2007, the multi-million-dollar giant was sentenced to pay punitive damages to six workers claiming to have been sterilized by the pesticide DBCP. One year later, anonymous Dole witnesses stated that several workers in two upcoming cases had never worked on banana farms and that this alleged fraud had infected all Nicaraguan banana suits. Dole successfully spread their version of the story to international media, which was possible due to a court order protecting the identity of the witnesses, making their stories impossible to double check.

But while Dole continues to hide behind the protective order, alternative voices are starting to pop up. These voices tell the story of a dirty Dole and a biased judge. And very soon, a new American lawyer will face Dole in court and ask them to explain.

Last spring, anonymous witnesses stated that several plaintiffs’ in two upcoming DBCP cases in the LA Superior Court had never worked on banana farms. Dole also claimed that this fraud involved all Nicaraguan DBCP cases, including the Tellez case back in 2007, where Dole was sentenced to pay compensatory and punitive damages to six workers (this is the case featured in the film BANANAS!*). In May 2009, Judge Chaney threw out the two upcoming cases and issued a protective order on the anonymous witnesses making it impossible to cross-examine their stories.

Since then, Dole has been hiding behind the protective order and has succeeded in spreading their version of the story worldwide, with no contradictions or opposing views. But a new plaintiffs’ lawyer in the Tellez case has filed a motion which seriously contests Dole’s allegations of fraud. The new lawyer, Steve Condie, writes that Chaney’s dismissal of all upcoming DBCP cases was not only unfair, but also a distraction from the genuine claim involving Dole’s use of DBCP. In the motion, Condie writes that at least four of the anonymous “John Doe” witnesses were paid by Dole and that four more had their own personal motives to slander American lawyers involved in DBCP litigation in Nicaragua. And since the witnesses were anonymous, it’s practically impossible to double check their statements, which is unfair. Court hearings will be held in Los Angeles this summer, dates will be announced soon. Download the full motion »

Beside from the upcoming court hearings, several alternative stories are starting to pop up. These stories provide a fresh wind by giving a Nicaraguan view of the events. El Nuevo Diario have published two stories, both pointing to the conclusion that Dole bribed witnesses to tell a story that doesn’t add up.

The first article starts off during a press conference in Managua on May 14, where seven former banana workers said Dole bribed or tricked them to witness against the affected plaintiffs’. One of the workers said that a Dole agent promised him an American VISA, $50,000, a job and housing in the US in exchange for declaring against one of the pesticide victims. He refused, but after being intimidated and threatened to be charged for criminal activities, he agreed to give a declaration, but only received 6,500 cordobas in exchange (approx $430). Read the original article here, or download an English translation here.

Associated Press also reported from the press conference, and one of the workers said in an interview that Dole offered him money to testify:
“What they wanted was for me to testify that the tests had been altered, that they had not worked on the banana plantation, and that for saying what they wanted, they would give me $225,000. I agreed to lie because they know that we are poor and know how to use you. They took me to Costa Rica and there I said everything they asked of me. They tricked me, they tricked all of us. They gave me just $300, that’s it.”

Lawyer Scott Edelman of Dole said in response that bribing of witnesses is “categorically false” and that he could not confirm if the workers on the Managua conference were in fact the anonymous “John Doe” witnesses, since the judge sealed their identities.

Another El Nueva Diario article shows that Dole fails to prove that “a secret meeting” took place where Nicaraguan judges, American lawyers and lab technicians met to manufacture evidence. The location can not be pinpointed, none of the alleged participants say they were there, passport stamps are missing and the witnesses’ stories about the length of the meeting does not match.

The article also criticizes Judge Chaney for being biased. During the court hearings in May 2009, she talked about how the judicial system in Nicaragua is corrupt, and that Nicaraguans can only live “in their own ecosystem”. Despite this criticism with the conclusion that no evidence coming from Nicaragua can be trusted, she completely trusts Dole’s evidence from Nicaragua. Read the original article here, or read an English translation by Google here.

Stay tuned for the LA Court hearings this summer and please share the links!

 

“La Dole nos sobornó para declarar contra víctimas del Nemagón”
(Link to El Nuevo Diario)
By: Roger Olivas
May 10, 2010
Full English translation can be found here

Conspiración Dole, la fábrica infame de “evidencias”
(Link to El Nuevo Diario)
By: Roger Olivas
May 12, 2010
English translation by Google translate can be found here

Nicaraguan banana workers deny they conspired in fraud to win pesticides case against Dole
(Link to Washington Examiner)
By: Marcus Aleman, Associated Press
May 14, 2010

 

Related articles on this site
Dole’s evidence in fraud case contested
February 13, 2010

Pesticide lawsuits – a DBCP overview
May 5, 2009

What is Nemagon?
May 5, 2009

 

April 20, 2010

UK press quotes

Filed under: News — admin @ 12:29 pm

The Telegraph (18/4/10)
"The denouement, far from the David-slaying-Goliath narrative that you might expect to be celebrated, is a messy affair. Dole filed ­ and later dropped ­ a defamation lawsuit against Gertten and turned his film into something of a cause célèbre in activist circles."

The Independent (17/4/10)

The Guardian (16/4/10)
"It seems that US corporations may be reaping a whirlwind of litigation from developing-world communities in Latin America for years to come, and like the cigarette companies, they will fight it every step of the way. What a prospect."

The Evening Standard (16/4/10)
"Dole lost and is now appealing and seems to be suing almost everyone in sight. It may be a never-ending story – but I know whose side I’m on."

View London (16/4/10)
"This is a well made eco-doc that’s gripping, rage-inducing, heart-breaking and heart-warming but also frustrating in equal measure. Worth seeing."

April 14, 2010

UK Cinema Dates (updated)

Filed under: News — admin @ 9:22 am

dogwoof

London based distributor Dogwoof brought BANANAS!* to UK cinemas on Friday 16th April with a two week run at Londons ICA and the Queens Film Theatre, Belfast. BANANAS!* has gone on to be booked in cinemas in every capital city in the UK with upcoming bookings in Cardiff and Edinburgh. Updated booking links will be published as and when they are live online and can be found here.

Dogwoof has a track record for bringing the best in socially minded and ethically aware films to UK cinemas and teaming these releases with innovative campaign to raise awareness of the films themselves and the issues surrounding them.

The Age of Stupid set a world record for the highest ever attendance at a film premiere for the satellite broadcast of its world premiere in April 9 while Burma VJ (Academy Award® nominee) was the first film ever screened at No. 10 Downing Street on the eve of the 64th Birthday of Burma’s detained former leader Aung San Sui Kyi.

 

February 15, 2010

US distribution confirmed

Filed under: News — admin @ 10:54 am

Oscilloscope Laboratories, a New York based film production and theatrical distribution company, has snapped up the US rights to BANANAS!*.

Oscilloscope was launched in 2008 by Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, who modeled the company after the indie record labels that he grew up around, choosing films and then marketing them with the same artistic integrity with which they were made. The company, which is an extension of Yauch’s recording studio of the same name, has an in-house DVD distribution and production arm, and the paper packaging is reminiscent of the heyday of LP record jackets. All of the company’s DVD packaging is (free of any plastic) printed on FSC Certified 80% post-consumer waste paper and produced in a carbon neutral, hydroelectric, ISO- 9001 and ISO- 14001 certified plant.

Other films on Oscilloscope include Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, directed by Stephen Kijak and Oscar nominee Burma VJ, directed by Anders Østergaard and co-produced by WG Film.

Oscilloscope website »

 

February 13, 2010

Dole’s evidence in fraud case contested

Filed under: News — admin @ 11:15 am

After months of silence, a new plaintiffs’ lawyer in the Tellez case has filed a motion in the California Superior Court which seriously contests Dole’s allegations of fraud in the Nicaraguan DBCP cases. The new lawyer, Steve Condie, writes that Judge Victoria Chaney’s dismissal of all upcoming DBCP cases was not only unfair, but also a distraction from the genuine claim involving Dole’s use of DBCP.

In the motion, Condie writes that at least four of the anonymous “John Doe” witnesses were paid by Dole and that four more had their own personal motives to slander American lawyers involved in DBCP litigation in Nicaragua. And since the “John Doe” witnesses were anonymous, it’s practically impossible to double check their statements, which is unfair.

Condie concludes that none of Dole’s evidence in the fraud case is reliable or unbiased: ”there is no credible evidence suggesting that any fraudulent activities engaged in Nicaragua by anyone had any impact or effect on the trial in this case“.

Further hearings in the case are scheduled for May 10-11.

Dowload the motion » (PDF)

 

Read more:
They’re Going Bananas! Lawyers Deny Cooking Up Stories About Dole
Amanda Bronstad, Law.com

BANANAS!* under fire – A timeline
www.bananasthemovie.com

 

February 6, 2010

Berlinale programme

Filed under: News — admin @ 4:46 pm

Aside from the screenings of BANANAS!* scheduled in the Culinary Cinema programme, the film will be discussed in other events organised by the Berlinale involving filmmakers, journalists, lawyers, etc:



Sunday, 14
th February

14:00 – 15:30, HAU1, Talent Campus
"Shooting Suspects: Trust and Risks in Documentary Cinema"
Experts: Fredrik Gertten, Laura Poitras, Anat Zuria.
Moderated by Jörg Taszman.



Monday,
15th February

11:00 – 12:30, HomeBase Lounge
"BANANAS!* vs DOLE", a case study: "How do we protect ourselves when we’re attacked? How do we support one another?"
Experts: Lincoln Bandlow, lawyer, Los Angeles (defended BANANAS!* against DOLE); Andreas Spieß, German media lawyer; Sabine Bubeck-Paaz, ZDF/ARTE; Fredrik Gertten, director BANANAS!*; Margarete Jangård, producer BANANAS!*.
Moderated by Ove Rishøj Jensen, European Documentary Network.

18.00, Konzerthaus Gendarmenmarkt
Cinema for Peace gala: the International Green Film Award will be presented by Leonardo di Caprio and Mikhail Gorbachev.

22:00, Martin Gropius Bau Cinema
Screening of BANANAS!* – in the Berlinale Culinary Cinema Programme.



Tuesday, 16
th February

17:00 – 18:30, Gropius Mirror Restaurant
Fruit Salad: A discussion with Fredrik Gertten on his film BANANAS!* and the politics of food.



Wednesday, 17
th February

BANANAS!* Event at the Swedish Embassy in Berlin:
17.00: Cocktail – at the invitation of the Ambassador of Sweden
17.45: Screening of BANANAS!*
19.15: Panel on freedom of speech: "When Corporate Lawyers Come Knocking on Your Door"
Experts: Mats Johansson (conservative member of the Swedish Parliament who presented BANANAS!* to the Parliament); Percy Bratt (civil rights defence lawyer (former Swedish Helsinki Committee); Sabine Bubeck-Paaz (commissioning editor ZDF/ARTE, co-producer of BANANAS!*); Fredrik Gertten (director of BANANAS!*); Margarete Jangård (producer of BANANAS!*); Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (German Minister of Justice, not yet confirmed).

Moderated by Benedikt Härlin (journalist and former politician of the Green Party).



Download this post as a PDF »

For press and interview request, please contact:
Kerstin Hamm / kainz + hamm filmcontact
kerstinhamm@filmcontact.de / www.filmcontact.de
Marienburger Straße 36 10405 Berlin
Phone: + 49 (0)30 27908 – 700, Fax: – 795, Cell: + 49 (0) 177 4024355

Logos

Embassy of Sweden Swedish Institute Civil Rights Defenders Autlook Filmsales WG Film

February 3, 2010

BANANAS!* nominated for “Green Oscar”

Filed under: News — admin @ 6:29 pm

BANANAS!* has been nominated for the International Green Film Award 2010 at the Cinema For Peace Gala in Berlin on February 15th.

Words from the jury:
"With BANANAS!* you did not only chronicle a landmark court case. In realizing this upsetting feature you also carry a message for humanity: You intentionally provoke basic important questions about power relations in our globalized world."

The prize will be announced and handed out by actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former president Mikhail Gorbachev. Dicaprio was awarded last year along with Gus Van Sant and his feature film Milk.

The 2010 International Green Film Award nominees are:
BANANAS!* 2009: Fredrik Gertten (director), Maragrete Jangård (producer).
Crude, 2009: Joe Berlinger (director), Michael Bonfiglio (producer).
Home, 2009: Yann Arthus Bertrand (director), Denis Carot (producer).
Into Enternity, 2010: Michael Madsen (Director), Lise Lense-Møller (Producer).
Avatar, 2009: James Cameron (director), Jon Landau (producer) For blockbuster entertainment with a green message.
Roland Emmerich: For blockbuster entertainment with a green message Robert Redford: For his lifelong dedication to environmental issues.

During the gala, the international film industry will meet to display and honour social and humanitarian achievements connected to the world of film. This is the ninth time the annual gala is held, and it will take place on Monday, February 15th, at the Konzerthaus Berlin.

Read more at www.cinemaforpeace.com
For ticket requests, send a mail to guest@cinemaforpeace.com

 

January 14, 2010

Berlinale goes BANANAS!*

Filed under: News — admin @ 7:00 pm

BANANAS!* continue its journey around the world. Because of the conflict with Dole Food Company, the Berlinale International Film Festival has made an exception from their ordinary premiere rules and shows the film in the section for food politics, “Culinary Cinema”.

"The concept for the series has proven successful. We show films that whet our audience appetites and then we cook for them. Though we also show films that ruin their appetites, for instance, films that open their eyes to the catastrophic global food situation”, says festival director Dieter Kosslick.

This year, Berlinale International Film Festival celebrates its 60 year anniversary and takes place in Berlin, February 11-21.

 

BANANAS!* screening times at Berlinale 2010:

Monday, 15. February, at 10:00 p.m. (admission 09:45 p.m.)
Martin-Gropius-Bau

Tuesday, 16. February, at 05:00 p.m.
"Gropius Mirror" restaurant, Tea Times – "Fruchtsalat", Discussion with Fredrik Gertten. Attendance only with registration at kulinarisches.kino@berlinale.de

 

Download press release »
(PDF including background story about BANANAS!*)

 

For press and interview request, please contact:
Kerstin Hamm / kainz + hamm filmcontact
kerstinhamm@filmcontact.de / www.filmcontact.de
Marienburger Straße 36 10405 Berlin
Phone: + 49 (0)30 27908 – 700, Fax: – 795, Cell: + 49 (0) 177 4024355

 

January 6, 2010

BANANAS!* nr 5 on Swedish critic high score

Filed under: News — admin @ 3:26 pm

Swedish website Filmnyheterna.se compiles the Swedish critic scores for Swedish cinema releases 2009. BANANAS!* hits nr 5 with an average score of 3.56.

If you look at the reviews, 2009 was a strong year for Swedish documentary filmmaking. 39 films had their cinema premiere during 2009. The average grade for documentaries was 3.92, and the average for feature films were 2.75.

The grades are a combined average from Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Göteborgsposten, Sydsvenskan, Metro, Aftonbladet, Expressen, Nöjesguiden, Allt om film, TV4 Nyhetsmorgon, SVT Morgon, Moviezine.se, TT Spektra and Swedish Public Radio P4. At least five sources were needed to be featured on the list.

 

The full list (documentaries in bold):

(3 points and more)
Flickan – 3,94
Drottningen och jag – 3,92
Ebbe – The Movie – 3,65
Lilla spöket Laban – Bullar och bång – 3,6
Bananas!* – 3,56
Videocracy – 3,52
Apan – 3,51
I taket lyser stjärnorna – 3,47
Bröllopsfotografen – 3,44
Mammut – 3,42
När jag blir stor – 3,41
Män som hatar kvinnor – 3,4
I skuggan av värmen – 3,38
Man tänker sitt – 3,35
Am I Black Enough For You – 3,33
Behandlingen – 3,28
Prinsessa – 3,28
Fotografen från Riga – 3,14
Broder Daniel Forever – 3,12
En film om Olle Ljungström – 3,1
Kenny Begins – 3,04

(2 points and more)
Flickan som lekte med elden – 2,79
Metropia – 2, 77
Sommaren med Göran – 2,61
Wallander – Hämnden – 2,58
Luftslottet som sprängdes – 2,56
Hälsningar från skogen – 2,53
Pettson och Findus – Glömligheter – 2,5
Det enda rationella – 2,41
Så olika – 2,22
Johan Falk – Gruppen för särskilda insatser – 2,21
Beck – I stormens öga – 2,15
Karaokekungen – 2,13
Vägen hem – 2,08
Mañana – 2

(1 point and more)
Oskar, Oskar – 1,95
Scener ur ett kändisskap – 1,85
Äntligen midsommar! – 1,72
Tomtar och troll – 1,23

 

December 9, 2009

DVD released in Scandinavia

Filed under: News — admin @ 3:07 pm

Juan “Accidentes” Dominguez is on his biggest case ever. On behalf of twelve Nicaraguan banana workers he is tackling Dole Food in a ground-breaking legal battle for their use of a banned pesticide that was known by the company to cause sterility. Can he beat the giant, or will the corporation get away with it?

In the suspenseful documentary BANANAS!*, filmmaker Fredrik Gertten sheds new light on the global politics of food.

The BANANAS!* DVD is now available in Scandinavia.
UK and US release will follow in 2010.

Order your copy now »
(link to the WG Film shop)

BANANAS!* DVD

BANANAS!*
Price: 17 Euro

Picture: PAL 16:9 Widescreen
Sound: 5.1 Surround
Length: 87 min + 38 min bonus material
Language: English, Spanish
Subtitles: Swedish, Danish, Finish
Region: 2
Cover: Swedish

Bonus material:

  • Interview with Fredrik Gertten from Spegeln cinema, Malmö (in Swedish).
  • "Pictures from a banana plantation", 13 min.

Order your copy now »

All BANANAS!* merchandise is handled by the WG Film Shop. The shop is located in Malmö, Sweden and supports payments via credit card and PayPal. Thank you for supporting BANANAS!*

 


You can also buy posters and T-shirts in the BANANAS!* shop »

 

October 29, 2009

BANANAS!* filmmakers withdraw counterclaim against Dole

Filed under: News — admin @ 11:51 am

Press release:

(Los Angeles, CA) —  After improperly interfering with the Los Angeles premiere this past June of the documentary film BANANAS!* and then attacking the film with a defamation lawsuit, Dole Food Company last week voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit in response to the anti-SLAPP motion filed by the filmmakers and the outrage expressed in Europe and elsewhere over Dole’s lawsuit.  However, director Fredrik Gertten, producer Margarete Jangard and WG Film are asking the court to compel Dole to pay the fees and costs incurred by the filmmakers to defend the lawsuit. 

In addition, the filmmakers announced today that they have decided to withdraw, for now, the counterclaim they had filed against Dole which sought to recover damages suffered by the filmmakers by Dole’s strong-arm tactics in impeding the premiere and distribution of the film.

“We are extremely busy right now with promoting and screening BANANAS!*, which Dole had tried to stop by filing its unfounded lawsuit,” said director Gertten. “Having successfully compelled Dole to end their legal assault on the film, we are now focusing our efforts on getting the film out to the world.  Once we catch our breath from working on overcoming the harm initially caused by Dole’s tactics, we will reevaluate reinstituting our action against Dole.”

Lincoln Bandlow of Lathrop & Gage LLP, attorneys for the filmmakers, added that “the law is clear that Dole cannot file its action, compel defendants to incur significant expense in having to file an anti-SLAPP motion to have the case thrown out, and then just slink away with a voluntary dismissal while the motion is pending and not pay for its actions. The lawsuit should never have been filed – Dole has to pay the price for filing it.  Whether Dole will have to answer for the additional and significant damage it caused the makers of the film to suffer will be a question that may get revisited some other day.” 

BANANAS!* is the non-fiction film centering on the issues surrounding the treatment of banana workers in Nicaragua and covers one of the many lawsuits filed by these workers against Dole and other companies regarding the adverse health effects suffered as a result of the use of the pesticide DBCP in banana fields.  The film was screened in June 2009 at the Los Angeles Film Festival out of competition to sold out audiences even after Dole had tried to stop its screenings. Shortly after the festival, Dole filed a defamation lawsuit against the filmmakers and then last week, withdrew the lawsuit.

 

For information and press enquiries, please contact:

Lathrop & Gage LLP
Art Menke
Phone: +01 816 286 6385
amenke@lathropgage.com

David Magdael & Associates
Winston Emano
Phone: +01 213 624 7827
wemano@tcdm-associates.com

 

October 19, 2009

BANANAS!* world tour 2009

Filed under: News — admin @ 7:59 pm

BANANAS!* is set for competition at Seville European Film Festival and CPH:DOX in Copenhagen. In total, ten international film festivals will screen BANANAS!* this autumn. The world tour includes CMJ in New York, Mostra Internacional de Cinema in Sao Paolo, IDFA in Amsterdam and more.

The schedule for director Fredrik Gertten is tight; he will visit the festivals in New York, Sao Paolo, Copenhagen, Seville, Paris and Amsterdam.

 

Film festival schedule, October – November 2009:

CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival
(With director visit)
New York, USA
October 20-24, 2009

Mostra Internacional de Cinema
(With director visit)
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Oct 23 – Nov 5, 2009

M:DOX Film Festival
Malmö, Sweden
October 23-25, 2009

Leeds International Film Festival
Leeds, UK
November 4-22, 2009

CPH:DOX
(In competition / director visit)
Copenhagen, Denmark
November 6-15, 2009

Sevilla Festival de Cine Europeo
(In competition / director visit)
Seville, Spain
November 6-14, 2009

RIDM – Rencontres internationales du documentaire
Montreal, Canada
November 11-21, 2009

Aarhus Filmfestival
Aarhus, Denmark
November 12-15, 2009
(Please note: BANANAS!* screens at the kick-off on Sunday, November 8th!)

Festival Européen des 4 écrans
(With director visit)
Paris, France
November 18-20, 2009

IDFA International Documentary Film Festival
(With director visit)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
November 19-29, 2009

 

October 16, 2009

Dole to withdraw defamation suit

Filed under: News — admin @ 11:18 am

Press release:

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIFORNIA – October 14, 2009 Dole Food Company, Inc. today announced that it is dismissing its defamation lawsuit against filmmakers Fredrik Gertten, Margarete Jangård and WG Film AB in the Los Angeles Superior Court, relating to the film BANANAS!*.

Dole made its decision in light of the free speech concerns being expressed in Sweden, although it continues to believe in the merits of its case. Dole strongly believes in freedom of speech and expression, which are so important in Sweden and the United States.

"While the filmmakers continue to show a film that is fundamentally flawed and contains many false statements we look forward to an open discussion with the filmmakers regarding the content of the film," said C. Michael Carter, Dole’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel.

U.S. Contact: Marty Ordman – Phone: 818-874-4834
Europe Contact: Marie Noelle Fixler – Phone: 33 1 44 17 30 60

 

Media links:

Dole withdraws lawsuit against Swedish filmmaker
AP, Los Angeles Times, Oct 15

Dole drops BANANAS!* lawsuit
David Landes, The Local, Oct 15

 

Swedish news papers:

Dole drar tillbaka stämningen
Sydsvenskan, Oct 15

Dole drar tillbaka stämningen mot BANANAS!*
Anders Forsström, Dagens Nyheter, Oct 15

Dole drar tillbaka stämning
Helsingborgs Dagblad, Oct 15

Dole drar tillbaka stämning
Göteborgsposten, Oct 15

Dole drar tillbaka stämning
Svenska Dagbladet. Oct 15

 

October 14, 2009

After Max boycott: Swedish grocers demand talks with Dole

Filed under: News — admin @ 7:31 pm

On October 5, the CEO of Swedish hamburger chain Max said that they had stopped selling Dole fruit salads. A blogger had informed them about the lawsuit against BANANAS!*.

“We don’t like Dole’s actions. Suing a filmmaker instead of having a dialogue is despicable,” said Max CEO Richard Bergfors to the Realtid.se news website.

The story spread to news media all over Sweden, and journalists started contacting major food grocers ICA, Coop and Axood for comments. In an interview with Swedish news agency TT, a representative from ICA said that they had contacted Dole and demanded to have a talk about the film and the situation.

Swedish MPs Mats Johansson and Luciano Astudillo, who invited director Fredrik Gertten to screen BANANAS!* in the parliament, have invited representatives from ICA, Coop and Axfood to an informal lunch in relation to a meeting with the Swedish minister of culture. The meeting with be held in the parliament on October 15. Read more about the meeting »

 

Media links:

Ica, Coop och Axfood i möte om Doles stämning av filmen BANANAS!*
Anders Forsström, DN.se, Oct 13

Max bluffar om Dole-bojkott
Bernt Hermele, Realtid.se, Oct 12

Swedish grocers demand talks with Dole over Bananas!* lawsuit
TT/David Landes, The Local, Oct 7

”Det här är en ganska medveten pr-strategi"
Jens Mikkelsen & Sarah Nylund, Sydsvenskan.se, Oct 6

Swedish burger chain ditches Dole over Bananas!* lawsuit
TT/David Landes, The Local, Oct 6

”Dole uppför sig för djävligt”
Bernt Hermele, Realtid.se, Oct 5

 

International Federation of Journalists condemns Dole’s lawsuit

Filed under: News — admin @ 4:48 pm

Excerpt from IFJ.org:

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned as "unforgiveable censorship" attempts by the US fruit company, Dole Food, to prevent the release of a documentary film BANANAS!* by Swedish journalist and film maker Fredrik Gertten, which exposes threats to the health of banana plantations workers in Nicaragua.

"The company’s action is designed to legitimise censorship," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "We condemn the use of law to try to evade media scrutiny and public accountability. It is an unforgiveable violation of free speech."

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 123 countries worldwide.

Read full article:
IFJ Condemns Attempts by Embattled Food Company to Censor Free Speech in US
IFJ.org, Oct 8, 2009

 

Related articles on this site:

 

BANANAS!* on government level

Filed under: News — admin @ 2:29 pm

Swedish MPs Mats Johansson and Luciano Astudillo, who invited director Fredrik Gertten to screen BANANAS!* in the parliament, is now raising the question to the Swedish government.

On Thursday, October 15, 1.30 PM, the Swedish minister of culture, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, meets with director Fredrik Gertten, free speech lawyer Percy Bratt, and the two MPs to get a deeper insight into the matter.

“The purpose is to inform the minister of culture about our actions and opinions. We have launched a petition among the parliament members where we ask Dole Food to withdraw their lawsuit”, said Mats Johansson to Dagens Nyheter.

”Another issuie is what happens when the film is shown in other countries, where it might be targeted by new lawsuits. The film needs political support from the Swedish government”, said Luciano Astudillo to Dagens Nyheter.

In relation to the meeting, Johansson and Astudillo have also invited representatives from the three largest Swedish food grocers Coop, ICA and Axfood to an informal lunch in the parliament. The aim is to give a clearer picture of why the Swedish parliament has reacted so strongly against Dole’s lawsuit.

 

Related articles on this site:

Swedish MPs reply to Dole: “we are not impressed”

Filed under: News — admin @ 1:54 pm

Parliament members Mats Johansson and Luciano Astudillo invited director Fredrik Gertten to screen BANANAS!* in the Swedish parliament on October 1. The meeting was held, and the response was overwhelming from politicians from left to right. Read more »

Before the meeting, Michael Carter, Executive Vice President of Dole, sent a letter to Johansson and Astudillo. In the letter, Carter provided Dole’s perspective on BANANAS!* and “a more complete understanding, given the October 1 screening”. Read the full letter »

On October 8, Johansson and Astudillo sent a reply to Carter’s letter:

"Dear Michael,

Thanks for your letter of September 28, regarding the Bananas-film.

Regrettably, we have to say that we are not very impressed by the way you are arguing your case. A more civilized way of behaving would be to answer the questions raised by the film in a proper way with a serious intention, rather than attacking Mr Gertten.

It seems clear to us that you are misled by your PR-firm on how to influence Swedish opinion, with a poor understanding of our tradition of free speech during more than two hundred years.  As the saying goes: all business is local. We strongly recommend a change of bureau and tactics, if you are at all interested in the Swedish market. But first and most we urge you – in the name of free speech – to withdraw your lawsuit against Mr Gertten.

Stockholm, October 8, 2009

Mats Johansson, M P for the Conservatives
Luciano Astudillo, M P for the Social Democrats
"

 

Related media links:

“Dole försökte stoppa visningen av banandokumentären i riksdagen”
Andreas Henriksson, Makthavare.se, Oct 7
Includes longer interviews with Johansson and Astudillo. For a translation by Google, click here.

”Gertten får stöd från höger och vänster”
Hedvig Weibull, Sydsvenskan, Oct 2

"Dole gör en slags ekonomisk fatwa"
Anders Forsström, Dagens Nyheter, Oct 1

”Svenska företag kan inte göra som Dole”
Ann Persson, Dagens Nyheter, Oct 1

”Filmen BANANAS!* visas i Riksdagen”
TV4 News, Oct 1

”Därför visades BANANAS!* i riksdagen”
TV4 News, Oct 1

Interview with Fredrik Gertten
SVT News, Oct 1

Interview with Fredrik Gertten and Luciano Astudillo
Gomorron Sverige, SVT, Oct 1

Kulturnyheterna
SVT, Oct 1

"Konsten att skala yttrandefriheten"
Fredrik Robertsson, Helsingborgs Dagblad, Oct 2

”Höstens viktigaste film?”
Miranda Sigander, Expressen.se, Oct 2

"Gerttens film väckte en storm"
Jeanette Gentele, Svenska Dagbladet, Oct 5

 

October 9, 2009

Fantastic Swedish reviews

Filed under: News — admin @ 1:38 pm

Swedish reviews

SVT TV4 Sydsvenskan DN Aftonbladet Expressen Moviezine Kommiunalarbetaren UNT Metro

Dagens Nyheter (4/5) »
Maaret Koskinen

Sydsvenskan (4/5) »
Michael Tapper

Gomorron Sverige, SVT (4/5) »
Göran Everdahl

Nyhetsmorgon, TV4 (4/5) »
Ronny Svensson

Expressen (4/5) »
Ronnit Hasson

Aftonbladet (4/5) »
Jan-Olov Andersson

Svensk biopremiär den 9:e oktober i följande städer:

Båstad, Scala, Oct 9
Fagersta, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Gusum, Folkan bio, Oct 9
Göteborg, Roy, Oct 9
Haparanda, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Järfälla, Folkets hus Kallhäll, Oct 9
Lund, Kino, Oct 9
Malmö, Spegeln, Oct 9
Mörrum, Bio Laxen, Oct 9
Nynäshamn, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Osby, Bio Borgen, Oct 9
Skärhamn, Saga, Oct 9
Skoghall, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Stockholm, Rio, Oct 9
Stockholm, Zita, Oct 9
Tomelilla, Brösarps bio, Oct 9
Trollhättan, Forum/Folkets hus, Oct 9
Uppsala, Fyris, Oct 9
Västerås, Elektra, Oct 9
Ånge, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Åseda, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Örebro, Roxy, Oct 9
Östersund, Regina, Oct 9

Fler orter, oktober 2009:
Kumla, Folkan, Oct 11
Älmhult, Folkan, Oct 13
Söråker, Folkets hus, Oct 14
Umeå, Folkets bio, Oct 16
Norrköping, Harlekinen, Oct 18 & 25
Växjö, Palladium, Oct 22
Lidköping, Folkets hus, Oct 23
Karlstad, Arenan, Oct 26-27

 

October 6, 2009

Dan Koeppel: “Why is Dole suing a filmmaker?”

Filed under: News — admin @ 10:41 am

From Dan Koeppel’s blog:

The following is the English text of an article I wrote for Dagens Nyheter, the largest daily newspaper in Sweden. The story is about Dole’s attempt to stop the distribution of “BANANAS!*”, a documentary made by Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Gertten that the banana company believes to be untrue. The film is about lawsuits filed against Dole by Nicaraguan workers claiming to have been injured by the company’s use of a pesticide called Nemagon, or DBCP. In 2007, those workers achieved a partial victory against the banana company – but a follow-up suit was dismissed earlier this year after lawyers for the fruit giant offered evidence that the lawyer for the laborers had falsified information (here’s one of many news accounts about the trial’s denouement.)

In the story, I explain why I find that “evidence” unconvincing – and why Dole’s suit has roots not just in a century of  banana industry history, but also in a business model that persists to this day.

Read the article »

 

American writer Dan Koeppel has written articles for New York Times Magazine and Popular Science. He appears regularly in National Geographic Adventure.

Don’t miss Koeppels book on the banana industy: ”Banana. The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World” (Hudson Street Press, 2007).

 

October 5, 2009

Overwhelming support from the Swedish parliament

Filed under: News — admin @ 3:00 pm

Bratt & GerttenFree speech lawyer Percy Bratt and director Fredrik Gertten. Photo by Olof Lavesson.

BANANAS!* was screened in a fully booked meeting room in the Swedish parliament on October 1. The will to defend free speech was overwhelming from politicians from left to right.

After the screening, parliament members Mats Johansson (m) and Luciano Astudillo (s) launched a cross-party petition, collecting names in the Parliament. In the petition they are asking Dole to withdraw their lawsuit.

In an interview with Dagens Nyheter, Mats Johansson said (our translation):
"We hope that all parliament members will sign the petition. /…/ If Dole succeeds in this lawsuit, it may set a precedent, making it possible to ban films through court proceedings. /…/ Today, there are no laws that would support a Swedish company to act like Dole."

In an interview with Sydsvenskan, Luciano Astudillo said (our translation):
“We have repeatedly defended free speech when governments repress its citizens, but it’s equally important to react when companies try to restrict free speech through their financial muscles.”

The panel after the screening included Gertten, Astudillo, Johansson and Percy Bratt, a free speech lawyer and chairman of The Swedish Helsinki Committee. In an interview with Dagens Nyheter, Bratt said (our translation):
“This film provides a voice to people with no economic means in their criticism of a large company. In addition, the controversy around the film lies in the core of free speech, a sacred part of the Swedish constitution, something that all politicians, lawyers and journalists must support. It’s not just empty rhetoric on my part. We can not accept filmmakers to be silenced in this way.”

In an interview with SVT News, Fredrik Gertten said:
“The fact that the parliament is screening this film is an important symbolic gesture. We often take freedom of speech for granted, but obvious things must also be defined and formulated. The parliament members who took the initiative to this screening are doing just that, they are formulating why it is important to defend this movie. And I am incredibly happy about that.”

 

Media links about the screening (in Swedish):

"Dole försökte stoppa visningen av banandokumentären i riksdagen"
Andreas Henriksson, Makthavare.se, Oct 7

”Gertten får stöd från höger och vänster”
Hedvig Weibull, Sydsvenskan, Oct 2

"Dole gör en slags ekonomisk fatwa"
Anders Forsström, Dagens Nyheter, Oct 1

”Svenska företag kan inte göra som Dole”
Ann Persson, Dagens Nyheter, Oct 1

”Filmen BANANAS!* visas i Riksdagen”
TV4 News, Oct 1

”Därför visades BANANAS!* i riksdagen”
TV4 News, Oct 1

Interview with Fredrik Gertten
SVT News, Oct 1

Interview with Fredrik Gertten and Luciano Astudillo
Gomorron Sverige, SVT, Oct 1

Kulturnyheterna
SVT, Oct 1

"Konsten att skala yttrandefriheten"
Fredrik Robertsson, Helsingborgs Dagblad, Oct 2

”Höstens viktigaste film?”
Miranda Sigander, Expressen.se, Oct 2

"Gerttens film väckte en storm"
Jeanette Gentele, Svenska Dagbladet, Oct 5

 

September 29, 2009

Dole’s letter to Swedish parliament members

Filed under: News — admin @ 8:44 pm

Update: read longer interviews with Mats Johansson and Luciano Astudillo at Makthavare.se (in Swedish). For a translation by Google, click here.

Parliament members Mats Johansson and Luciano Astudillo have invited director Fredrik Gertten to screen BANANAS!* in the Swedish parliament on October 1.

Following a press release about the meeting, Michael Carter, Executive Vice President of Dole, sent a letter to Johansson and Astudillo. In the letter, Carter provides Dole’s perspective on BANANAS!* and “a more complete understanding, given the October 1 screening”.

Excerpt from the letter:

“Dole is a strong believer in freedom of speech, but the filmmakers acted irresponsibly when they released a knowingly false film. Under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, the free speech rights entail a duty to act responsibly and avoid making knowingly false statements. As the great scholar Alexander Bickel once said, the First Amendment requires those who invoke it to exercise “self-discipline and self-restraint” to avoid disseminating false information. But the BANANAS!* filmmakers abdicated any sense of responsibility, self-restraint, or self-discipline when they released this film despite knowing its entire premise has been ruled to be a fraud on Dole and California’s courts. As the United States Supreme Court has ruled, “[T]there is no constitutional values in false statements of fact.”

Download the full letter » (PDF)

 

After the screening on October 1, a panel discussion will be held about the limits of freedom of speech and artistic responsibility. In addition to Gertten, Astudillo and Johansson, the panel includes Percy Bratt, free speech lawyer and chairman of The Swedish Helsinki Committee for human rights.

From the press release, September 17, 2009:

In a statement related to the screening, parliament member Mats Johansson writes: “For me as a former journalist and publisher the "BANANAS!*" case is of great political importance. The freedom of speech is central to an open society, and must be protected all over the world. The outcome of the process is crucial for the future in a global context, which is a new situation to Swedish standards.”

Parliament member Luciano Astudillo states: “I strongly disapprove with Dole’s attempts to silence BANANAS!*. This is an attack on freedom of expression, which is a fundamental part of any open society. A major company should respect the freedom of speech and the independence of filmmakers.”

The meeting will be held on Thursday, October 1, 13-16 PM
Venue: Mittpoolen, entrance: Riksgatan 2, Stockholm

The meeting is open to journalists (the date for prior notification has passed).

Read the full press release about the meeting »

 


Read more about Dole’s lawsuit and our Anti-SLAPP motion and Cross-Complaint:

 

”Dole threatens free speech”

Filed under: News — admin @ 5:41 pm

In an opinion piece published in Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, chairmen of three major Swedish film organizations urges Dole to withdraw their lawsuit against BANANAS!*.

Selected parts from the article (our translation):

 

Dole threatens free speech

"Right now, there is a legal process in the United States where questions about free speech are being pushed to its limits.

Should it be possible, in a democratic society, to prohibit the screening of a documentary criticizing a major company? Should a company be able to stop the criticism in advance and stifle discussion and debate?”

/…/

“Dole’s lawsuit concerns the very basic principles of freedom of expression.

In a globalized world, where economic and political interests moves freely across national borders, free speech must also be global and without frontiers.

A Swedish film crew must have the freedom to examine the actions of a large American company in another country, and must be able to put forward their criticism to public examination and debate.

The foundations of an open society are poisoned when journalists, writers, artists and filmmakers have to work under the threat of being sued every time a financially strong party is examined.

If companies, public institutions or organizations believe that they are subjected to false or unfounded criticism, they all have the option and means to respond in an open discussion. To prohibit a critical examination is a serious restriction of free speech.

We urge Dole Food to withdraw their lawsuit and instead acknowledge our open society and freedom of expression.”

 

Lars Engqvist
Chairman, Sveriges Television (Swedish public service television)

Björn Rosengren
Chairman, Producentföreningen (Swedish Film & TV Producers Association)

Håkan Tidlund
Chairman, Svenska Filminstitutet (Swedish Film Institute)

 

Read the full article at DN.se » (in Swedish)

 


Read more about Dole’s lawsuit and our Anti-SLAPP motion and Cross-Complaint:

 

September 22, 2009

Sweden goes BANANAS!* – premiere with live broadcast

Filed under: News — admin @ 1:45 pm

On October 9, BANANAS!* will premiere simultaneously in theatres all over Sweden. After the Malmö screening at Spegeln, director Fredrik Gertten will be interviewed by Orvar Säfström. The interview will be broadcasted live to the theatres screening the film. Don’t miss this exclusive event!

(More cities will follow)
Båstad, Scala, Oct 9
Fagersta, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Gusum, Folkan bio, Oct 9
Göteborg, Roy, Oct 9
Haparanda, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Järfälla, Folkets hus Kallhäll, Oct 9
Lund, Kino, Oct 9
Malmö, Spegeln, Oct 9
Mörrum, Bio Laxen, Oct 9
Nynäshamn, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Osby, Bio Borgen, Oct 9
Skärhamn, Saga, Oct 9
Skoghall, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Stockholm, Rio, Oct 9
Stockholm, Zita, Oct 9
Tomelilla, Brösarps bio, Oct 9
Trollhättan, Forum/Folkets hus, Oct 9
Uppsala, Fyris, Oct 9 (no broadcast)
Västerås, Elektra, Oct 9
Ånge, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Åseda, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Örebro, Roxy, Oct 9
Östersund, Regina, Oct 9 (no broadcast)

More premiere dates, October 2009:
Kumla, Folkan, Oct 11
Älmhult, Folkan, Oct 13
Söråker, Folkets hus, Oct 14
Umeå, Folkets bio, Oct 16
Norrköping, Harlekinen, Oct 18 & 25
Växjö, Palladium, Oct 22
Lidköping, Folkets hus, Oct 23
Karlstad, Arenan, Oct 26-27

 

Doc Lounge pre screenings:
Malmö, Sweden, Oct 5
Stockholm, Sweden, Oct 6
Göteborg, Sweden, Oct 7

Gala premiere event:
Malmö, Royal, Oct 8
Info and tickets »

 


Help us! Form a local support group in your city »

 

September 17, 2009

BANANAS!* screening and debate in the Swedish parliament

Filed under: News — admin @ 7:33 am

Press release, September 17, 2009:

Parliament members Mats Johansson and Luciano Astudillo have invited director Fredrik Gertten to screen his documentary feature film BANANAS!* in the Swedish parliament. After the screening, a panel discussion will be held about the limits of freedom of speech and artistic responsibility.

BANANAS!* raised attention worldwide after being pulled out of competition from the Los Angeles Film Festival in June. The film tells the story about a legal battle between Nicaraguan banana plantation workers and Dole Food Company. After the Los Angeles screening, Dole sued the filmmakers in the U.S.

In a statement related to the screening, parliament member Mats Johansson writes: “For me as a former journalist and publisher the "BANANAS!*" case is of great political importance. The freedom of speech is central to an open society, and must be protected all over the world. The outcome of the process is crucial for the future in a global context, which is a new situation to Swedish standards.”

Parliament member Luciano Astudillo states: “I strongly disapprove with Dole’s attempts to silence BANANAS!*. This is an attack on freedom of expression, which is a fundamental part of any open society. A major company should respect the freedom of speech and the independence of filmmakers.”

In addition to Gertten, Astudillo and Johansson, the panel includes Percy Bratt, free speech lawyer and chairman of The Swedish Helsinki Committee for human rights.

Thursday, October 1, 13-16 PM
Venue: Mittpoolen, entrance: Riksgatan 2, Stockholm

The meeting is open to journalists.
Prior notification is required; send a mail before September 28 to film@wgfilm.com and we will forward your request.

 

Mats Johansson

  • Member of Parliament, The Moderate Party
  • Member of Committee on Cultural Affairs
  • Deputy member of Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Member of The Swedish Delegation to the Nordic Council

Luciano Astudillo

  • Member of Parliament, The Social Democratic Party
  • Member of Committee on the Labour Market

 


Read more about Dole’s lawsuit and our Anti-SLAPP motion and Cross-Complaint:

 

September 14, 2009

Gala premiere in Malmö, October 8 – order tickets online

Filed under: News — admin @ 8:21 pm

Take the opportunity to see BANANAS!* on Sweden’s largest cinema screen. Welcome to our exclusive premiere event in Malmö!

Director Fredrik Gertten will talk about the making of the film and how it feels like to be sued by the world’s largest fruit company.

We will serve wine when you arrive. After the screening, the mingle continues at restaurant Nosh, Nibble & Cush (Kaptensgatan 1).

Thursday, October 8, 16:00 PM
Biograf Royal, Södra Tullgatan 4, Malmö
(Doors open at 15:30 PM)

Premiere events are always free. But we need your support! Therefore, all tickets cost 150 SEK.

Order your ticket right away! When you click on the button below, you will be redirected to PayPal. There you can pay on the fly using a credit card or log in to an existing PayPal account. We will then send you the ticket by regular mail.

Booking is closed

Do you want to buy tickets to a company? We can arrange an invoice.
Please contact Annette Brejner, phone +46 73 361 26 19

Thank you for your support, and welcome!

 

September 11, 2009

BANANAS!* strike back at Dole

Filed under: News — admin @ 8:06 am

From the press release:

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (September 10, 2009) — In response to a defamation lawsuit brought by Dole Food Company, Inc. against the makers of the documentary film BANANAS!*, attorneys for filmmakers Fredrik Gertten, Margarete Jangård and WG Film AB today filed a Motion to Strike Dole’s Complaint under California’s Anti-SLAPP statute, which allows the court to dismiss meritless lawsuits filed for the purpose of stifling protected speech. Lathrop & Gage attorney Lincoln Bandlow serves as lead attorney in this matter.

As set forth in the motion, the film BANANAS!* provides a balanced account of issues surrounding the treatment of banana workers and covers one of the many lawsuits filed by Nicaraguan banana workers against Dole and other companies regarding the adverse health effects suffered by workers as a result of the use of the pesticide DBCP in banana fields. Dole’s lawsuit, as set forth in the motion, simply seeks to “poison the fountain of free speech” by intimidating anyone who speaks out on this important issue of public concern who does not comport with Dole’s “spin” on recent events pertaining to DBCP litigation.

In addition to filing an Anti-SLAPP Motion, WG Film AB also filed a Cross-Complaint against Dole, seeking to recover damages for Dole’s improper tactics in interfering with the film’s premiere and its participation in the Los Angeles Film Festival. As set forth in the Cross-Complaint, by “recklessly and falsely attack[ing] WG Film’s integrity and competency as a documentary film maker to the heads of corporate sponsors of the Festival” and making “similar false and defamatory statements to the General Consul and Ambassador from Sweden,” Dole caused the film to be removed from competition and clouded the film’s world premiere, causing the filmmakers substantial damage.

“We are very pleased that the truth about our film will finally be known and that the public will see that this lawsuit was simply an effort by Dole to silence the public discussion of important issues,” said Gertten, the director of the film.

Mr. Bandlow added that “if there ever was a lawsuit that cried out for the speech-protecting mechanism of California’s Anti-SLAPP statute, it is Dole’s absurd defamation action. We are confident that once the Court sees the actual film, rather than Dole’s patently false description of it in the complaint, this action will be summarily dismissed, my clients can proceed with the film’s distribution and seek to recover the damages suffered by Dole’s censorship-by-intimidation tactics.”

An electronic version of WG Film’s brief with links to relevant clips from the film and other material can be found at:
files.me.com/jshaeffer/pt6ujd (file size: 880 MB). A copy can be made available upon request.

More downloads:

 

About Lathrop & Gage:
A full-service law firm, Lathrop & Gage LLP has almost 300 attorneys in 11 offices nationwide – from Los Angeles to New York. In 2009, Chambers USA ranked Lathrop & Gage’s corporate, environmental, intellectual property, litigation, real estate and labor and employment teams among the best in the Midwest. For more information, visit www.lathropgage.com or www.beentherewonthat.com.

 

For information and press enquiries, please contact:

Lathrop & Gage LLP
Art Menke
Phone: +01 816 286 6385
amenke@lathropgage.com

David Magdael & Associates
Winston Emano
Phone: +01 213 624 7827
wemano@tcdm-associates.com

 


Support BANANAS!* – join the Free Speech Campaign »

September 2, 2009

Reporters Without Borders launches BANANAS!* petition online

Filed under: News — admin @ 5:12 pm

The Swedish division of Reporters Without Borders condemns the BANANAS!* lawsuit on their website and have launched an online petition. Sign their letter to the Dole headquarters!

 

We can not let Dole stop BANANAS!

To:
Jean-Christophe Juilliard, CEO / Directeur Général Europe de Dole
David DeLorenzo, President and CEO, Dole Food Company, Inc.

”The fruit company Dole has initiated a legal process against the Swedish journalist and film maker Fredrik Gertten and his company WG Film. The case is based on his documentary movie Bananas! where Gertten describes the legal process in a case where a group of workers accuse Dole for having used the toxic substance DBCP on its production areas in Nicaragua.

Dole wants to stop BANANAS!* from showing in cinemas and TV. They want to block the Gerttens website and give the director a life time muzzle talking about the movie and the fruit company.

We are worried by Dole´s behaviour which put in danger freedom of expression. A major company should respect the freedom of speech and the independence of journalists.”

Sincerely,

Sign the petition »
(www.petitiononline.com)

 

August 24, 2009

German filmmakers warns Dole

Filed under: News — admin @ 2:40 pm

Thomas Frickel, CEO of The German Documentary Association (AG DOK), has sent a letter to Dole CEO David DeLorenzo and European CEO Jean-Christophe Juilliard. On behalf of AG DOK, he strongly criticizes Dole’s attempts to silence BANANAS!*, and demand that they immediately cease their attack on the film and the freedom of information. Otherwise, he will officially ask the 850 members of AG DOK to use their contacts and resources to produce critical films and news reports about Dole and its methods. Read the full letter below.

 

To:

Jean-Christophe Juilliard
CEO / Directeur Général Europe de Dole

David DeLorenzo
President and CEO
Dole Food Company, Inc.

 

Frankfurt, August 17th, 2009

Dear Sirs,

We, the members of the German Documentary Association, are outraged at how your company is pressuring the independent Swedish production company WG Film in order to prevent the exhibition and distribution of the film “Bananas”.

We view your company’s actions as an attack on the freedom of the press and the freedom of expression which are an intrinsic part of any open society. This is absolutely unacceptable. Your attempts to pressurize film festival sponsors and to ruin a small film production company by burying it in lawsuits are both shabby and transparent. These Machiavellian methods only serve to harm your company’s reputation beyond repair.

The German Documentary Association – Germany’s largest professional film organization numbering more than 850 documentary filmmakers, directors and producers – demands that you immediately cease your attacks on the freedom of information as well as stop your company’s inhuman practices in Latin America which the film “Bananas” criticizes. Otherwise we will officially ask our members to use their excellent contacts to national and international television stations to produce critical films and news reports scrutinizing Dole and its methods. Furthermore, we will ask our partner organizations throughout Europe to encourage their journalists and filmmakers to join our campaign. Many of our journalist and film colleagues are well connected with numerous NGOs which are very experienced in organizing and running boycott campaigns. I can’t imagine that all this would be in your best interest.

We anxiously await your response.

 

Sincerely,

Thomas Frickel
Chairman and CEO – German Documentary Association / AG DOK

 


 

August 22, 2009

BANANAS!* free speech campaign

Filed under: Take Action — admin @ 6:45 pm

Background
Dole Food Company is suing filmmaker Fredrik Gertten, producer Margarete Jangård and our production company WG Film for slander and defamation with our film BANANAS!*. The film follows an historic event in an American court, and is a matter of public record – not defamation.

We are supporters of free speech. We believe that filmmakers have the right to make films on important issues and bring stories to the forefront that can create debate and criticism. Lawsuits such as this one are meant to silence and stop all communication and dialogue.

Dole is trying to shift the focus from themselves and their controversial treatment of banana workers on to us and our film. This unfounded lawsuit means more than just silencing a single documentary film. It is a threat against free speech itself and will set precedence for all of us if Dole succeeds. We can not let Dole stop BANANAS!*.

In October 2009, BANANAS!* will premiere in the following Swedish cities:

(More will be announced soon)
Båstad, Scala, Oct 9
Fagersta, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Gusum, Folkan bio, Oct 9
Göteborg, Roy, Oct 9
Haparanda, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Järfälla, Folkets hus Kallhäll, Oct 9
Lund, Kino, Oct 9
Malmö, Spegeln, Oct 9
Mörrum, Bio Laxen, Oct 9
Nynäshamn, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Osby, Bio Borgen, Oct 9
Skärhamn, Saga, Oct 9
Skoghall, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Stockholm, Rio, Oct 9
Stockholm, Zita, Oct 9
Tomelilla, Brösarps bio, Oct 9
Trollhättan, Forum/Folkets hus, Oct 9
Uppsala, Fyris, Oct 9 (no broadcast)
Västerås, Elektra, Oct 9
Ånge, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Åseda, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Örebro, Roxy, Oct 9
Östersund, Regina, Oct 9 (no broadcast)

More premiere dates, October 2009:
Kumla, Folkan, Oct 11
Älmhult, Folkan, Oct 13
Söråker, Folkets hus, Oct 14
Umeå, Folkets bio, Oct 16
Norrköping, Harlekinen, Oct 18 & 25
Växjö, Palladium, Oct 22
Lidköping, Folkets hus, Oct 23
Karlstad, Arenan, Oct 26-27

 

Take action
We need your help! We want the film to be seen by as many people as possible. Here are some suggestions what you can do:

  • Spread the word by telling the BANANAS!* story to all your friends.
  • Join our Facebook fan page and invite your friends.
  • Spread the trailer: YouTube » or Vimeo »
  • Start a debate in your local newspaper about for example corporate responsibility, food politics or the importance of free speech.
  • Pay a visit to your local food store and ask where their bananas come from. Demand that they sell only fair trade bananas.
  • Dig deeper into the story and publish articles on your blog. Help us shift the focus away from the controversy around the film and back to Dole (or other transnational food companies) and their actions in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
  • Send emails or letters to Dole and their lawyers and let them know you don’t like how they are trying to silence an independent filmmaker by litigation.
  • Send emails to groups and organizations working with food politics, pesticides, corporate responsibility and free speech. Tell them about the film and the lawsuit and ask them to post news about it on their website and link to this site.
  • Launch a BANANAS!* petition online or sign an existing one. Sign the Reporters Without Borders petition »
  • If you are an artist (musician, moviemaker etc.) let the press and your fans know that you support us.

 

Further action
If BANANAS!* screens in your city, gather some friends and create a local support group. Help us represent BANANAS!* at the screenings. Do you want to help us? Send a mail to action@bananasthemovie.com

  • Put up posters around the city. Hand out newsletters and sell T-shirts and posters at the screenings. We will send you everything you need by mail from our Malmö office and keep in touch by email and telephone.
  • Inform local politicians, organizations, activists and celebrities about the film and the dates of the screenings. Give them a call or send them our ready made info letter. Ask them to make statements to the press about what they think about the film and the lawsuit.
  • Arrange debates after the screenings about for example food politics, corporate responsibility or free speech. Invite researchers, journalists and representatives from fair trade organizations and corporations. Maybe the local school, university or other study association can provide a location and assist in arranging such an event?
  • If you are an artist, create a piece of art inspired by bananas. For example your relation to the fruit or a comment to the political and social dilemmas it holds. With your permission, we would love to publish your work or provide links here on this site.

 

For the latest BANANAS!* updates and news

 

August 14, 2009

Merchandise

Filed under: Take Action — admin @ 2:32 pm

All BANANAS!* merchandise is handled by the WG Film Shop. When you click on an item, you are re-directed to that item on the shop website. The shop is located in Malmö, Sweden and supports payments via credit card and PayPal. Thank you for supporting BANANAS!*

The BANANAS!* DVD is now available in Scandinavia.
UK and US release will follow in 2010.

Order your copy now »
(link to the WG Film shop)

BANANAS!* DVD

BANANAS!* DVD
Price:
15 Euro

Picture: PAL 16:9 Widescreen
Sound: 5.1 Surround
Length: 87 min + 38 min bonus material
Language: English, Spanish
Subtitles: Swedish, Danish, Finish
Region: 2
Cover: Swedish

Bonus material:

  • Interview with Fredrik Gertten from Spegeln cinema, Malmö (in Swedish).
  • “Pictures from a banana plantation”, 13 min.

BANANAS!* Posters

white poster

White poster (70×100 cm)
"On trial for malice"

10 EUR

Download web version (JPG) »

black poster

Black poster (70×100 cm)
"At any cost?"

10 EUR

Download web version (JPG) »

Go to WG Film Shop »

August 13, 2009

Filmmakers express their support for BANANAS!*

Filed under: News — admin @ 4:16 pm

During the first weekend of August, BANANAS!* was screened for the first time in Sweden at Båstad Film Festival. “The reactions are very strong, the response is great and the discussions are intense”, Gertten said to Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan.

In the Sydsvenskan article, several internationally acclaimed documentary filmmakers expressed their support to director Fredrik Gertten and BANANAS!*.

British filmmaker Kim Longinotto wrote in an email to Sydsvenskan: “I hope they don’t succeed in silencing [Gertten]. These large companies are accustomed to getting their will through. Therefore, it’s inspiring for the rest of us when someone dares to stand up and question their actions. /…/ The fact that a powerful multinational corporation is trying to discourage the filmmaker illustrates the power of this film. Fredrik has scared them.” (Our translation).

Austrian filmmaker Hubert Sauper, familiar to similar controversy following his Academy Award nominated film “Darwin’s nightmare”, also expressed his support and were quoted writing: “We must organize ourselves as filmmakers. /…/ I would use this opportunity to turn Dole’s actions against them. I believe that the public are informed enough to see through their way of dealing with criticism. /…/ Even though I havn’t seen [Gertten’s] film, I support him morally.” (Our translation).

Another filmmaker, American Robert Kenner, is currently attracting a lot of attention in the U.S with his film “Food Inc.” which takes a close look at the American food industry.

“What is happening with Fredrik Gertten and his film is a major concern. /../ When I started making ‘Food Inc.’, I had no idea how far corporations were willing to go to prevent the public from finding out where our food comes from. It’s alarming how much power they have to keep us uninformed. When transparency is lost, we are all in danger”, Kenner wrote to Sydsvenskan (our translation).

 

July 28, 2009

First Amendment attorney to take on Dole lawsuit

Filed under: News — admin @ 11:35 am

WG Film, Fredrik Gertten and Margarete Jangard, producers of the documentary film BANANAS!*, have retained First Amendment specialist Lincoln Bandlow of Lathrop & Gage to defend a defamation action brought against them by Dole Food Company. 

The Documentary examines global food politics through the vehicle of a Los Angeles civil lawsuit brought by Nicaraguan banana farm workers against Dole. Bandlow says that the filmmakers "will vigorously respond to Dole’s meritless action and will demonstrate that the lawsuit is simply one part of Dole’s overall strategy to stifle debate about an issue of great public importance." 

Bandlow added that the film gives a balanced account of claims that Dole’s use of the pesticide DBCP caused banana workers to become sterile. "The documentary shows both sides of the story, including the tough cross examination of the workers and the later holding by the court that the action was tainted by fraud on the part of some of the workers’ counsel. It is apparent that Dole hopes to leverage the misconduct of certain of the workers’ counsel to stifle the film and, in particular, its discussion of evidence that Dole continued to use DBCP in Nicaragua after being informed by the pesticide’s supplier of its risk to worker health", adds Bandlow.

The film, which to date has been shown only twice at the June 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival, where there was detailed discussion both before and after the running of the film about the controversy over the recent finding of fraud by the workers’ counsel, is scheduled for broader release this fall.  "Dole does not want that release to happen because it wants discussion about its DBCP practices to simply go away. We are confident the court will not allow Dole to use this meritless lawsuit to accomplish that goal", said Bandlow.

 

For information and press enquiries, please contact:
Lincoln Bandlow, Esq.
Phone: +01 310 789 4600
lbandlow@lathropgage.com

 

July 24, 2009

Donate

Filed under: Take Action — admin @ 10:31 am

We need your help! Support the distribution of BANANAS!* and our legal fight against Dole Food Co.

The independent non-proft association Filmmakers’ Freedom of Speech have launched a fund raising campaign for BANANAS!*.

The association has decided to support director Fredrik Gertten, producer Margarete Jangård and our production company WG Film in our legal fight against Dole Food Co.

Read more at their webiste: www.filmmakersfreedomofspeech.com
There you can become a member and donate money via PayPal or via traditional bank transfer.

 

You can also donate money to Filmmaker’s Freedom of Speech directly from this site.

When you click on the button below, you will be redirected to PayPal. There you can pay on the fly using a credit card or log in to an existing PayPal account.

The charge will appear as "Filmmaker’s Freedom of Speech" on your credit card statement.

Thank you for your support!





 


Another way to support BANANAS!* is to buy posters and T-shirts in the BANANAS!* shop »

July 9, 2009

Press room

Filed under: Press — admin @ 12:00 pm

For more information and press enquiries, please contact:
David Magdael & Associates – Los Angeles
Winston Emano, wemano@tcdm-associates.com
David Magdael, dmagdael@tcdm-associates.com
Phone: +1 213 624 7827

Press kit

Timeline about the Dole lawsuit

Fredrik Gertten

Director’s comments

Press kit

Press kit (collected texts)

  • Press kit (PDF)
    Synopsis, Director’s statement, Key subjects, About the filmmakers, Credits,
    Tellez vs. Dole: A Timeline
Press kit

For students

  • Bananas film guide (PDF)
    Film study questions from the Swedish Film Institute.
    Recommended for upper-secondary school.
Bananas stills

Stills from the film

Bananas posters

Posters (for web use)

Bananas logo

Logo

LA photos

Photos from the Los Angeles Film Festival

WG logo

Other

For full press kit, please send a mail to: film@wgfilm.com

Or call our Sweden office:
+46 (0)40 781 50
+46 (0)40 23 20 98

BANANAS!* is getting sued by Dole

Filed under: News — admin @ 10:54 am

July 9, 2009 –  Late Wednesday afternoon,  Fredrik Gertten, Margarete Jangard and WG Film, the filmmaker and producers of the documentary feature film, BANANAS!* were sued by Dole Food Company, Inc. for the screening of the film. The lawsuit claims that the film BANANAS!* – a court room documentary – is defamatory and false toward Dole Food Corporation.

Through their lawyer, Richard J. Lee, Esq. of Lee and Lawless, the filmmakers and WG Film issued a statement.  Richard J. Lee said today: 

"My clients and I believe that this suit is without merit and represents the latest in a continued line of intimidating harassment by a multinational corporation aimed squarely at a small, independent film and its filmmakers.

It is unfortunate that rather than concentrate its resources toward genuinely addressing the acts it admitted to, and was found liable of committing as covered in the film, Dole instead chooses to stifle even basic discussion by attempting to silence the messenger of a message it dislikes.

Moreover, it is appalling that through this action, Dole is attempting to shift the focus away from its own CEO’s court admission that Dole continued the usage of a banned pesticide even after being informed of its harm by its manufacturer Dow Chemicals, and now on to WG Film which captured that moment on film.

It is important to note that Dole committed to suing WG Film without seeing the film.

Dole has touted a judge’s later finding against one of the attorneys in the case shown in the film which did not in fact exonerate Dole or its actions in Nicaragua.

In all screenings of the film which have occurred to date we have disclosed the judge’s findings and put the trial fully in context with events which happened after the completion of this documentary."

Just a few weeks ago, BANANAS!* screened twice out of competition as a special screening at the recent Los Angeles Film Festival.  Dole had sought a court order to block the film’s screening prior to the Festival’s opening in June 2009.

However, Judge Victoria Chaney who presided over that hearing stated to the Dole legal team and the entire courtroom:

“Just so we are clear, I am not in any way going to make, and I will not consider, any request for prior restraint on free speech.  Okay?  So, don’t ask me to go try and contact the film company.  I don’t have jurisdiction over them. But even if I did, don’t ask me for it.” 

BANANAS!* is produced by WG Film  based in Malmö, Sweden, which has also produced notable documentaries including BURMA VJ and FINAL IMAGE.

 


Download the full defamation complaint (PDF) »
Download this press release (PDF) »

July 8, 2009

Video from the panel discussion at LAFF

Filed under: News — admin @ 7:15 pm

A little totally BANANAS!* film from the panel after the second screening at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 23. Look out, in the end Juan Dominguez’s brother surprises us all with a speech.

In the film you see:
– Michael Donaldson, legal advicer to the festival and panel moderator. Also the writer of the disclaimer.
– Fredrik Gertten, filmmaker.
– Eddie Schmidt, Board President of the International Documentary Association (IDA)
– Audience, no name
– Audience: Carlos M. Dominguez, the brother of Juan Dominguez. Carlos is a high school history and psychology teacher.

 

The BANANAS!* lawsuit

Filed under: Press — admin @ 6:00 pm

July 8, 2009 – Fredrik Gertten, Margarete Jangard and WG Film, the filmmaker and producers of BANANAS!* were sued by Dole Food Company, Inc. for the screening of the film. The lawsuit claims that the film BANANAS!* is defamatory and false toward Dole Food Corporation.

 

September 10, 2009 – attorneys for Fredrik Gertten, Margarete Jangård and WG Film AB filed a Motion to Strike Dole’s Complaint under California’s Anti-SLAPP statute, which allows the court to dismiss meritless lawsuits filed for the purpose of stifling protected speech.

More downloads (separate PDF’s):

In addition to filing an Anti-SLAPP Motion, WG Film AB also filed a Cross-Complaint against Dole, seeking to recover damages for Dole’s improper tactics in interfering with the film’s premiere and its participation in the Los Angeles Film Festival.

 

November 17, 2010 – The Los Angeles Superior Court granted the anti-SLAPP motion, struck Dole’s lawsuit with prejudice and ordered them to pay attorneys fees and costs in the amount of $200,000.

 


Related articles on this site:

BANANAS!* trailer

Filed under: Trailers — admin @ 12:00 pm

Juan “Accidentes” Dominguez is on his biggest case ever. On behalf of twelve Nicaraguan banana workers he is tackling Dole Food Co. in a ground-breaking legal battle for their use of a banned pesticide that sterilized workers. Can he beat the giant, or will the corporation get away with it? In the suspenseful documentary BANANAS!*, filmmaker Fredrik Gertten sheds new light on the global politics of food.

Fredrik interviews Steve Condie

Filed under: Trailers — admin @ 11:45 am

Steve Condie is the lawyer representing the banana workers in the ongoing Tellez vs. Dole case. Fredrik Gertten met him this summer (2010) in Los Angeles inside LA Superiour Court and discussed what’s happening next in the case.

BANANAS!* Graffiti art

Filed under: Trailers — admin @ 11:30 am

Some nice dudes from the streetwear collective Impala, helped us spead the message that BANANAS!* was opening on cinemas in Sweden in October 2009. This is the result on video, in a faster, more effective motion. Although it was good in real-time too. Enjoy!

Thanks to:
Artist: Dan Bengtsson
Camera: Anja Holmström
Editor: Emma Svensson

Panel discussion at LAFF

Filed under: Trailers — admin @ 11:00 am

A film from the panel after the second screening at the LA Film Festival. Look out, in the end Juan Dominguez’s brother appears.

In the film you see:
– Michael Donaldson, legal advicer to the festival and panel moderator.
– Fredrik Gertten, filmmaker.
– Eddie Schmidt, Board President of the International Documentary Association (IDA)
– Audience, no name
– Audience: Carlos M. Dominguez, the brother of Juan Dominguez.

July 3, 2009

New attack from Dole

Filed under: News — admin @ 2:06 pm

After the screenings of BANANAS!* on the Los Angeles Film Festival in June, Dole’s lawyer firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LPP demanded the festival to send them all business records pertaining to BANANAS!*.

We think that this would truly hurt the integrity of the organization, as the supporter of the independent filmmaker, and of free speech.

Below is a letter sent to festival director Dawn Hudson from BANANAS!* director Fredrik Gertten, where he asks the festival not to cede to the demands of the subpoena:

 

July 1, 2009

Dawn Hudson
Executive Director
Film Independent
Los Angeles CA

Dear Dawn Hudson and Film Independent Board of Directors:

RE: Subpoena from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LPP dated 13 June 2009

We wanted to express our thanks to you for showing our film BANANAS!* at the recent Los Angeles Film Festival. As we were all under pressure amidst the controversy, we were pleased that you went ahead and screened the film.

We now understand that Dole Food has subpoenaed Film Independent for business records pertaining to our film BANANAS!*. We respectfully urge you to reject this act of blatant intimidation, and ask you to please not assist Dole Foods and their legal representatives in attacking out film and filmmaker team.

To cede to the demands of the subpoena without fighting them would truly hurt the integrity of the organization as the supporter of the independent filmmaker, and of free speech. Further, this could very well set a dangerous precedent in how outside parties handle legal actions toward films presented at the Los Angeles Film Festival and films associated with Film Independent.

As you know Dole attacked the film early on without seeing it. As more professionals and general audiences were able to view the film, many saw Dole’s counter campaign antics clearly as the intimidation tactics that they were and continue to be.

Between both our organization and yours, we collectively have strong contacts in the global, independent production community, and we intend to rally this support for our cause. We would like to talk with you at your earliest opportunity on how we can work together in fighting this subpoena.

Thank you for all your support, and we look forward to moving ahead together to stop these unwarranted attacks on us the filmmakers, and on Film Independent.

Sincerely,
Fredrik Gertten

 


Download the letter in PDF »

July 2, 2009

Sign the filmmakers petition for free speech!

Filed under: Take Action — admin @ 4:04 pm

Before the screening of BANANAS!* in Los Angeles on June 20, a petition was arranged by other filmmakers participating in the festival.

Please continue the list by writing your name and location as a comment below!

 

To:
Rebeca Yeldham
Director of Los Angeles Film Festival, 2009

Dear Rebeca,

We are writing on the behalf of all the directors of this year’s LAFF to support Fredrik Gertten and his film "BANANAS!*".

We strongly feel that as artists one has the right and freedom to show their work despite how others might feel about the content.

Thank you for sustaining the integrity of the Fesitval by showing BANANAS!* tonight.

 

Sincerely,

Sam Fleischner
Ben Chace
Alicia Scherson
Jason Buschman
Hilla Medalia
Henry Bernadet
Myriam Verreault
Gabriel Mascaro
Natalia Almada
Topaz Adizes
Jean-Marie Téno
Celina Murga
Raúl Cuesta
Anais Huerta

Rebeca Méndez
Click image for large version

 

June 29, 2009

Hollywood Podcast interview with Fredrik Gertten

Filed under: News — admin @ 2:23 pm

Los Angeles actor/writer, Tim Coyne, interviews Fredrik Gertten, director of BANANAS!*. Running time 23:25:

Listen to the interview at Hollywood Podcast »

Download the mp3 file »
(right click, "save link as")

June 26, 2009

FIND/LAFF statement on BANANAS!* screening

Filed under: News — admin @ 1:10 pm

Film Independent (FIND) director Dawn Hudson read a statement prior to the screening of BANANAS!* on June 20. It was also handed out to the audience.

"Before you watch this film, you need to know that serious questions have been raised about its credibility.

The judge specifically mentions in her ruling that the witnesses you will see in the film tonight (from the Tellez trial) lied under oath, presented false employment records, and presented fraudulent evidence of sterility.

The court has referred Juan Dominguez to the State Bar and to criminal prosecutors. He is defending all charges against him.

None of this is reflected in the film you are about to see. As a reult, there seems to be little question that the version of reality that the film portrays does not match the reality that emerged in the courtroom.

So why is the Los Angeles Film Festival showing this film when the allegations presented have been found by an LA Superior Court judge to be based on fraudulent evidence?

This is a question that we at Film Independent and the Los Angeles Film Festival (LAFF) have been wrestling with for the past several days – not the least because there is the threat of litigation if we go forward with the screening.

We are not eager to be sued. Nor, given what we know, do we believe that BANANAS!* – in its present form – presents a fair or accurate portrait of Juan Dominguez and the Tellez trial.

This is why we are showing this film – out of competition – as a case study, to illuminate a timely exploration of what makes (and doesn’t make) a responsible documentary."

Read the full statement »

Watch director Fredrik Gertten’s speech before the screening »

Also see AJ Schnack’s blog post and its comments:
"What is the Documentarian’s Responsibility When the Story Changes?" »

 

The letter to Carl Bildt

Filed under: News — admin @ 12:07 pm

On June 22, Luciano Astudillo, a member of the Swedish parliament and the Social Democratic Party sent a public letter to the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Carl Bildt.

(Our translation):

An American transnational is trying to stop a Swedish documentary

By Luciano Astudillo (s)
To: Minister for Foreign Affairs, Carl Bildt (m)

The Swedish journalist and filmmaker Fredrik Gertten has produced a documentary, BANANAS!*, which was screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June. The film depicts how Nicaraguan workers claim they were poisoned by pesticides used by Dole Food Co. on banana plantations during the 1970s.

Even before the premiere, Dole tried to stop the film from screening at the LA Film Festival and has threatened to sue the film company, since Dole thinks it contains false facts. In their efforts to try and stop the film, Dole initially turned to the Swedish Consulate General in Los Angeles, which led to the cancelling of a planned reception. Then Dole contacted the Swedish Ambassador in Washington D.C and demanded the film to be stopped from screening.

Thus, my question to the Minister for Foreign Affairs is:

Does the Minister for Foreign Affairs intend to, in an appropriate way, protest against the fact that an American transnational corporation uses Swedish government authorities to stop the screening of a Swedish documentary? And in that case, how does the Minister for Foreign Affairs intend to act?

June 23, 2009

Dole did not like the film – another letter

Filed under: News — admin @ 8:49 pm

Dole’s lawyers attended the BANANAS!* premiere on June 20. They did not like what they saw, and sent another letter:

Read the other letters »

 

Video of Gertten’s speech at the LA premiere

Filed under: News — admin @ 4:17 pm

Before the screening of BANANAS!* on June 20, the executive director of Film Independent, Dawn Hudson, read a statement why the film was removed from competition. BANANAS!* director Fredrik Gertten then held a speech about the importance of free speech and the balance between different voices. This video shows the tense last minutes just before the screening.

 

Dole’s video response to the BANANAS!* trailer

Filed under: News — admin @ 3:36 pm

If you do a search on the term “DBCP” on google.com, Dole shows up in the “sponsored links” sidebar. They are paying Google to be on top of the search results when users are trying to find information about DBCP. When you click on the sponsored link, you end up here.

The page serves as Dole’s resource for information in DBCP related court cases. The latest addition is a video response to the BANANAS!* trailer, where they provide their view of the recent event.

Just before the screening at the LA Film Festival, director Fredrik Gertten held a speech. He also screened Dole’s trailer. He did this to prove that all voices are being heard, and to show the importance of free speech, regardless of side, opinion or message.

Google’s sponsored links are often embedded on other sites, and on Vimeo.com, the host of the BANANAS!* trailer, Dole’s DBCP link is also showing up. There is nothing wrong with that. As Gertten said:

“I believe in democracy and I believe in the free word, and I believe there is a balance in a society between different voices. /…/ There is room for everybody in a talk about things that happens in our society, and I think it should also be room for independent films.”

 

June 22, 2009

The film was screened in LA!

Filed under: News — admin @ 12:39 pm

Dear friends, a little update from a turbulent Los Angeles.

Two hours and twenty minutes before the screening we got the green light from the festival board. It was not an easy move for them, but we left it in their hands and the festival did they right thing. We are grateful for that.

At least ten people from Dole were in the audience, taking notes. The audience loved the film. The debate was insane, but we did well. The sympathy fell on our side.

We are very grateful for all the support from you! On this site and in the facebook group.

The second and final chance to see BANANAS!* on the Los Angeles Film Festival will be on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 9:15 PM at The Landmark at the Westside Pavillion.

For updated screening times and ticket information, please visit: www.lafilmfest.com/2009

 

Gertten’s speech at the LA premiere

Filed under: Trailers — admin @ 12:00 pm

Before the screening of BANANAS!* on June 20, the executive director of Film Independent, Dawn Hudson, read a statement why the film was removed from competition. BANANAS!* director Fredrik Gertten then held a speech about the importance of free speech and the balance between different voices. This video shows the tense last minutes just before the screening.

June 18, 2009

Fredrik Gertten answers his critics after BANANAS!* is attacked by Dole Food and The Los Angeles Business Journal

Filed under: News — admin @ 1:36 pm

From the press release:

“BANANAS!*,” filmmaker Fredrik Gertten’s suspenseful, controversial, non-fiction chronicle on the global politics of food and First vs. Third world dynamics, will be presented in special screenings as a Case Study at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival on June 20 and June 23, 2009 in Westwood.

Directed by Gertten, one of Sweden’s preeminent documentarians and investigative journalists, “BANANAS!*” focuses on a slippery fact trail and a landmark legal case pitting a dozen Nicaraguan plantation workers against Dole Food Co., Inc. and its alleged usage of a deadly banned pesticide and its probable link to generations of sterilized workers.

The film has been recently attacked by Dole Food Co., Inc. and the Los Angeles Business Journal as not being fact based.  To date, neither Dole, its legal counsel nor the Los Angeles Business Journal have seen the film.  In addition, Dole and its attorneys from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher have sought to stop the film from being screened at the Festival.  On May 8, the attorneys went to court seeking stoppage Judge Victoria Chaney.

Judge Chaney responded to the request in court on that day by stating: “Just so we are clear, I am not in any way going to make, and I will not consider, any request for prior restraint on free speech. Okay?  So, don’t ask me to go try and contact the film company. I don’t have jurisdiction over them. But even if I did, don’t ask me for it.” 

Even after receiving this response from the court, Dole and its attorneys began attacking the film through “cease and desist” threatening letters sent to WG Films and ITVS – the US production company.  In addition, they sent letters directly to the Swedish Ambassador to the United States in DC and the Consul General of Sweden in Los Angeles seeking assistance to prevent the film from screening.

As the attacks escalated on the film, “BANANAS!*” was moved out of competition and now will screen in a special Case Study screening slot where the film will be presented together with a special post-screening discussion with the filmmaker.  The discussion will center on the documentary filmmaking theme of what happens when a film is finished and new developments come to light, along with what then, are the rights and responsibilities of filmmakers?

Filmmaker Fredrik Gertten responds to the film’s critics stating: “My film, BANANAS!* follows this first historic court case in Los Angeles Superior Court. The film ends with a verdict from the jury.  And now, that verdict is under appeal.  The recent hearing of April 21 and 23, 2009 happened at a moment after the film was delivered to all broadcasters and to the festival.  Because of this new development, we did make a change in the end title cards which updated the audiences as to Judge Chaney’s new rulings.”

“This film is still valid and is still the truth about what happened,” adds Gertten.  “I think Dole Foods will be surprised after watching it. They are probably expecting a hard-hitting activist film. It’s not that film. We follow a court drama – an important historic case. If the workers win, it will mean a lot for other workers in the world who claim that they have been abused. Dole and other big corporations have all the best reasons to fight that. But, I think they should do that in an open debate, not by threatening a film or a film festival and a filmmaker.”

Gertten also adds:  “In answer to the question of whether my film is fraudulent, I cannot see that it is.  Everything I filmed is the truth and how this all played out during this trial.  The most important evidence in the case is a letter between Standard Fruit Company (now DOLE) and Dow Chemicals. This is hard evidence and was not something that I made up.”

With regard to one of the film’s lead characters, Juan Dominguez, – the Los Angeles based attorney who brought the trial to Los Angeles and who is now accused of fraud in the trial, Gertten says: “The accusations against Juan Dominguez are serious and I understand that.  I look forward to following this case as it develops. Thus far, though, he has only been accused.”

“As a journalist and a filmmaker, I only want to bring the truth to the surface so that the public can know and can dialogue about events that impact them,“ comments Gertten.  “Having Bananas!* now in the public and being able to discuss and to defend my film will be a great thing for all of us involved.  No more threats. No more name calling or accusations – but actually discussing.  I am proud that my film will be screening at the Los Angeles Film Festival and I look forward to these discussions.”

BANANAS!* will be screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival as follows: 

  • Saturday, June 20, 2009 at 7:30 PM at the UCLA James Bridges Theatre
  • Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 9:15 PM at The Landmark at the Westside Pavillion. 

Fredrik Gertten will also be the featured filmmaker at the Filmmaker Lunch Talks on Monday, June 22 at 12:30 PM at the Zone Perfect live.create.lounge. 

For updated screening times and ticket information, please visit: www.lafilmfest.com/2009

For more information, please contact:
David Magdael & Associates – Los Angeles
Winston Emano, wemano@tcdm-associates.com
David Magdael, dmagdael@tcdm-associates.com

 

BANANAS!* is produced by Malmö Sweden-based WG Film and producer Margarete Jangård in co-production with Magic Hour Films (Denmark), ITVS International; Film i Skåne, SVT and Swedish Television (Sweden); with support from The Sundance Documentary Fund, The Swedish Film Institute; Danish Film Institute, Nordisk Film and TV Fond, ZDF/ARTE (Germany/France), YLE (Finland), NRK (Norway), TSR (Switzerland), VPRO (The Netherlands) and Odisea (Spain/Portugal).

 


Download this press release (PDF) »

June 16, 2009

A letter to the international documentary community

Filed under: Take Action — admin @ 10:10 am

Dear colleagues,

We have been working on the feature documentary BANANAS!* since 2006, and we are slated to launch the film at the Los Angeles Film Festival, held June 18-28 this year.

The film follows a landmark court case – Tellez et. al. v. Dole Food Company Inc. et. al. – where a group of Nicaraguan banana workers, with the help of attorney Juan Dominguez, sues Dole Food for using a banned pesticide in their Nicaraguan plantations. Prolonged exposure to this pesticide was known to cause sterility in human males. It was the first time that agricultural workers from the developing world gave
testimony against a US-based multinational in a US court.

In January, 2008, a full jury found Dole Food guilty of causing harms to the workers, and of acting with malicious intent. They awarded damages to the workers, and Dole is now appealing the verdict. Despite this appeal, during the trial the CEO of Dole Food admitted on the stand that he continued to use the aforementioned pesticide in his Nicaraguan plantations, after it was banned in the US.

Dominguez had many other, similar cases in line following the Tellez case. Dole accused Dominguez of fraud, and the presiding Judge, Victoria Chaney, sided with Dole and threw out all remaining cases. At this point the Tellez decision stands, and case is still under appeal by Dole.

Recent developments have called the validity of certain aspects of the case into question. As those of you who have done courtroom documentaries can attest, court cases can keep developing years after the verdict. Regardless of the final outcome, the film is an accurate representation of the case over a period of time, and our broadcasters and all our other partners support the film 100%.

On May 8, the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, who represented Dole in court, attempted to get Judge Chaney to stop the film from being screened at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival. The Judge stated to those present: “Just so we are clear, I am not in any way going to make, and I will not consider, any request for prior restraint on free speech. Okay? So, don’t ask me to go try and contact the film company. I don’t have jurisdiction over them. But even if I did, don’t ask me for it.”

As they were unsuccessful with Judge Chaney, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP sent us a letter demanding we ‘cease and desist’ plans to screen the film at the Festival. The first such letter sent to us, on May 8 of this year, was copied to all the corporate sponsors of the LA Film Festival, but was not copied to the LA Film Festival itself. A copy of this letter and related letters are available here.

To date, neither Dole nor Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP have actually seen our film. They are basing their comments on a three-minute trailer and information posted here on our website, www.bananasthemovie.com.

Dole’s team is now moving on to yet another strategy and have contacted the Swedish Consulate in LA and the Swedish Ambassador to the US in Washington, asking them to help stop the film.

To date they have only succeeded in getting the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) to pull out of ‘co-hosting’ the film’s opening night at the Festival. However, a lawyer from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher serves on the board of directors of the LAFLA.

Out of respect to the LA Film Festival, we did not broadcast any of these actions until now. However with days to go before our premiere, we are spreading the word.

We are considering all our options given Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s actions.

As we move forward, we hope you as our allies in the international documentary community will throw your support behind us. Dole and their counsel’s interference with us, ITVS, the Festival, and their sponsors represent a serious threat to independent documentary production.

Please join our mailing list for breaking news by filling out your mail address in the sidebar to the right, and join our facebook group.

Things will begin to move rapidly, and we will keep you updated as they come.

 

In thanks and solidarity,

Fredrik Gertten
Margarete Jangård
Lise Lens-Møller
Bart Simpson

BANANAS!*
www.bananasthemovie.com

 


 

June 11, 2009

BANANAS!* under fire – an update

Filed under: News — admin @ 9:00 pm

As you may have heard, our film has been under a microscope.

The Los Angeles Business Journal, in an article in their June 8 edition, cited the following headline “Legal: Documentary on lawyer needs fact-check”.

Unfortunately, the LA Business Journal could not have fact checked their own article let alone the film, because they haven’t seen it.

In fact to date, no one from Dole, Dole’s lawyers – Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP – or the Los Angeles Business Journal have actually seen the film. Their comments are based on pure speculation.

Judge Chaney responded directly to the lawyers and the court when Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP went to her court on May 8 to stop my film from being shown. 

On that day in her court and in regard to the film, Judge Chaney stated to those present: “Just so we are clear, I am not in any way going to make, and I will not consider, any request for prior restraint on free speech.  Okay?  So, don’t ask me to go try and contact the film company.  I don’t have jurisdiction over them.  But even if I did, don’t ask me for it.” 

As they were unsuccessful with Judge Chaney, Dole’s lawyers started writing letters to us, our US partner ITVS, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and the LA Film Festival’s corporate sponsors, demanding that we ‘cease and desist’ plans to screen the film on June 20 at the Festival, and anywhere else in the world.

Dole’s team is now moving on to yet another strategy and have contacted the Swedish Consulate in LA and the Swedish Ambassador to the US in Washington, asking them to help stop the film.

To date they have succeeded in getting the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) to pull out of ‘co-hosting’ the film’s opening night at the Festival.  However, a lawyer from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher serves on the board of directors of the LAFLA.

All the partners in our film stand by BANANAS!* 100%. 

The filmmaking team behind BANANAS!*has decades of experience in the documentary industry.  Additionally, I have served as an international journalist for 25 years for the Swedish media.

It is important for all those interested in documentary – filmmakers and those who love the form – to stay focused on the facts. To that end we’ve added some of the letters referenced above onto our site for your perusal.  You can find them in the bottom of this post. Please log on regularly for the latest updates, and we look forward to sharing our opening with those of you at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 20 and 23.

Yours truly,

Fredrik Gertten
Director

Join the BANANAS!* Facebook group »
Follow Fredrik on Twitter »

 

The letters from Dole and our replies (PDF):

The letters from Dole

Filed under: Press — admin @ 8:00 pm

Dole’s lawyers are trying to stop BANANAS!*. As they were unsuccessful with asking Judge Chaney (the judge in the Tellez case) to stop the film, Dole’s lawyers started writing letters to us, our US partner ITVS, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and the LA Film Festival’s corporate sponsors, demanding that we ‘cease and desist’ plans to screen the film on June 20 at the Festival, and anywhere else in the world.

Read the full story »

 

The letters from Dole and our replies (PDF):

 

June 10, 2009

Reviews

Filed under: Press — admin @ 6:00 pm

Swedish reviews

SVT TV4 Sydsvenskan DN Aftonbladet Expressen Moviezine Kommiunalarbetaren UNT Metro

Dagens Nyheter (4/5) »
Maaret Koskinen

Sydsvenskan (4/5) »
Michael Tapper

Gomorron Sverige, SVT (4/5) »
Göran Everdahl

Nyhetsmorgon, TV4 (4/5) »
Ronny Svensson

Expressen (4/5) »
Ronnit Hasson

Aftonbladet (4/5) »
Jan-Olov Andersson

 

Documentary Field Notes and Flashpoints, Nov 27, 2009
Magnus Isacsson

"I was at the edge of my seat, dying to see how the law suit was going to end. Well shot, well edited, and with judicious use of archives and court room footage, this is a really important film."

 

n:zone, July 28, 2009
Debbie Lynn Elias

"An extremely well crafted film, in addition to the courtroom drama, there is raw human emotion and even humor. This is life. This is litigation. This is a front row seat to a history making event, that of third world claimants being heard as plaintiffs for the first time in a U.S. Court."

"There is a polish to the overall production with its many textural components of archival footage, courtroom footage and present day observations and background material that makes for a compelling human drama. And as with all good documentaries, it raises questions – and not just about the legal turmoil – but about corporate responsibility, ethics and human rights."

"From a filmmaking standpoint, the documentary is informative, educational, interesting and gives one pause to think about not only the events in this film, but the agricultural industry itself."

 

Jesther Entertainment, June 24, 2009
Ed Rampell

"… an extremely well crafted, powerful chronicle of an important issue. If one looks closely, the viewer can see Dole’s side of the story also being told"

"… this film is doing what movies should be doing: after the Tuesday screening and panel (which ran to midnight) viewers were debating the picture’s pros and cons outside the theatre, stirring discussion about important social issues"

"BANANAS!* is food for thought, and LAFF’s must-see film"

 

Variety, June 22, 2009
Peter Debruge

"… an incredibly polished film"

"Swedish helmer Fredrik Gertten offers a front-row seat to a landmark “Erin Brockovich”-style trial …"

"The case could make history, marking the first time Third World agricultural workers are heard in U.S. court, and set precedent, allowing him to sue on behalf of the many other Chinandega locals awaiting their day in court."

"… “BANANAS!*” is quite balanced, airing the opening and closing arguments of both sides."

 

 

Media links

Filed under: Press — admin @ 12:06 pm

This is a collection of newspaper articles, blog posts and video clips about the recent events surrounding BANANAS!*

In English:

Dole withdraws lawsuit against Swedish filmmaker
Los Angeles Times / La Plaza
Deborah Bonello, October 16, 2009

Dole drops BANANAS!* lawsuit
The Local
David Landes, October 15, 2009

Swedish grocers demand talks with Dole over BANANAS!* lawsuit
The Local
David Landes, October 7, 2009

Swedish burger chain ditches Dole over BANANAS!* lawsuit
The Local
David Landes, October 6, 2009

Why Dole sues filmmakers
Dagens Nyheter / www.bananabook.org
Dan Koeppel, October 5, 2009

Swedish MPs back filmmaker’s battle with US food giant
The Local
David Landes, October 1, 2009

US food giant sues Swedish filmmaker
The Local
David Landes, July 10, 2009

Dole Food accuses ‘BANANAS!*’ filmmaker of slander, libel
Los Angeles Times
Victoria Kim, July 9, 2009

BANANAS!*
Hollywood Podcast (audio interview)
Tim Coyne, June 28, 2009

What a Week! Michael Jackson, “Public Enemies” and “BANANAS!*” at LAFF
indieWIRE
Brian Brooks, June 26, 2009

BANANAS!* The Film Dole Doesn’t Want You to See
Uprising Radio / KPFK 90,7 FM
June 23, 2009

Dole v. “BANANAS!*”
Business Ape
Christine Arena, June 22, 2009

What is the Documentarian’s Responsibility When the Story Changes?
All these wonderful things
AJ Schnack, June 22, 2009

Documentary draws ire of Dole after plot thickens
Florida Today, AP
Linda Deutsch, June 19, 2009

Special Event: 2009 LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL: Must See Films
n:zone
Debbie Lynn Elias, June 19, 2009

Dole Claims BANANAS!* Film Documents Fraud
Business Week
Michael Orey, June 19, 2009

Dole fights against ‘BANANAS!*’
Mother Nature Network
Siel Ju, June 18, 2009

Dole Food Co. dislikes BANANAS!*
The Envelope, Los Angeles Times
Reed Johnson, June 16, 2009

Bananas over “BANANAS!”: The Dole Case Hits the Silver Screen
Law Blog, The Wall Street Journal
June 16, 2009

Documentary drives Dole Food Co. bananas
La Plaza, Los Angeles Times
June 16, 2009

Dole Threatens Filmmakers with Lawsuit
Fair Food Fight
June 16, 2009

Dole Goes Bananas Over Documentary on Nicaraguan Worker Abuse
RaceWire
Channing Kennedy, June 16, 2009

Documentary About Struggling Farm Workers Becomes ‘Case Study’ in Truthfulness
Media Decoder, New York Times
Michael Cieply, June 9, 2009

The Big Slip-Up
Los Angeles Business Journal
Alexa Hyland, June 8, 2009

 

In Swedish:
(For translation, please use Google translate)

SYDSVENSKA DAGBLADET

Dole vill inte betala Gertten
Arvid Jurjaks, October 29, 2009

Gertten drar tillbaka stämning
Arvid Jurjaks, October 29, 2009

Stämningen har lättat
Andreas Ekström, October 24, 2009

Svenska påtryckningar gav resultat
Thomas Frostberg, October 16, 2009

Dole har inte kontaktat mig
Hedvig Weibull, October 15, 2009

Dole drar tillbaka stämningen
Arvid Jurjaks, October 15, 2009

ICA:s krav: "Dra tillbaka stämningen"
Arvid Jurjaks, October 15, 2009

ICA kräver möte med Dole
TT, October 7, 2009

Filmare stöttar Fredrik Gertten
Arvid Jurjaks, August 10, 2009

"Omöjligt förstå Doles stämning"
Annika Gustavsson, August 2, 2009

Specialist försvarar BANANAS!*
Karin Arbsjö, July 28, 2009

Banankonflikten trappas upp
Arvid Jurjaks, July 11, 2009

Bananjätte stämmer Malmöfilmare
Arvid Jurjaks, July 9, 2009

Banankontakt
Nina Halling, June 23, 2009

Gerttens film visad efter lång palaver
Kristin Nord, June 21, 2009

BANANAS!* visas trots stämningshot
Karin Arbsjö, June 12, 2009

Budskapet är lika tydligt nu som då
Patrik Svensson, June 12, 2009

Malmöfilmare stoppas på festival
Niklas Lundell & Gustav Svensson,
June 11, 2009

 

DAGENS NYHETER

Dole: "BANANAS!* far med osanning"
Anders Forsström, August 5, 2009

Filmfestival: Farlig stämning
Barbro Hedvall, August 4, 2009

Stor advokatbyrå företräder BANANAS!*
Anders Forsström, July 29, 2009

Dags att bojkotta Dole – yttrandefrihet på bolagens villkor
Maria Schottenius, July 11, 2009

Bananjätte stämmer svensk filmare
Anders Forsström, July 9, 2009

 

HELSINGBORGS DAGBLAD

Sugen på en banan?
Johan Malmberg, August 3, 2009

Båstadaktuella BANANAS!* får vass försvarare
July, 29, 2009

Giftig film får dubbel visning
Göran Holmquist, July 27, 2009

Smutsiga bananer
Mats Kolmisoppi, July 14, 2009

Bananthriller inspirerar unga filmare
Katarina Höije, November 9, 2009

 

– – – – –

Evidens för reproduktionstoxisk effekt hos kemikalie ignorerad
Läkartidningen
Maria Albin & Aleksander Giwercman, September 8, 2009

Har DOLE fått bananas?
Expressen
Luciano Astudillo, June 22, 2009

Oschyssta bananer!
Dagens Arena
Eva Brandsam, June 18, 2009

Bananas att stoppa "BANANAS!*"
City
Tara Moshizi, June 17, 2009

Totally Bananas!
Grym Film
June 17, 2009

Filmen som får Dole att gå bananas
Resumé
Peter Willebrand, June 16, 2009

Storföretag stoppar film om bananindustrin
Stockholms Fria
Kristian Borg, June 16, 2009

Bananjätte försöker stoppa svensk dokumentär
Aktuellt, SVT
June 15, 2009

Svenskfilmen får inte tävla
Aftonblandet
Kerstin Danielson, June 15, 2009

BANANAS!*
la vie en sportive
June 15, 2009

Gertten i stort bråk
Expressen
Claes Carlson, June 12, 2009

Så ville Dole styra SVT
Dagens Media
June 12, 2009

Bananhjärnorna på Dole
Netpiracy & Netliberty
Joakim Holgersson, June 12, 2009

Malmöfilmare får inte tävla på festival
Skånska Dagbladet
Fredrik Thunberg, June 11, 2009

Amerikanska banankompaniet Dole hotar stämma malmöfilmaren Fredrik Gertten för filmen Bananas
Rapport/Sydnytt, SVT
Charlotte Lundgren, June 11, 2009

Ny dokumentär från Gertten
Sydnytt, SVT
Charlotte Lundgren, June 8, 2009

 

May 13, 2009

BANANAS!* is set for special spotlight screenings at 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival

Filed under: News — admin @ 11:11 am

From the press release:

BANANAS!*, filmmaker Fredrik Gertten’s suspenseful, layer-peeling, non-fiction chronicle on the global politics of food and First vs. Third world dynamics, will be presented in special spotlight screenings at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival on June 20 and June 23, 2009 in Westwood.

Directed by Gertten, one of Sweden’s preeminent documentarians and investigative journalists, BANANAS!* focuses on a slippery fact trail and a landmark legal case pitting a dozen Nicaraguan plantation workers against Dole Food Corporation and its alleged usage of a deadly banned pesticide and its probable link to generations of sterilized workers.

Central to both the film and case is Juan “Accidentes” Dominguez, a Los Angeles-based personal injury attorney who, although iconic within the Latino community for his ubiquitous billboard ads, is unquestionably facing the biggest case and challenge in his career.

As the legal representation on the first Nicaraguan sterility case to be tried in US courts, Dominguez and his colleague, Duane C. Miller, are breaking new ground. Theirs is a bellwether case: The first of thousands of cases awaiting trial in Nicaragua and the first legal case where foreign farm workers were allowed to testify against an American multinational corporation before a full jury on U.S. soil. At stake are the futures of generations of workers, their families as well as the culture of global, multinational business.

“I’m beyond thrilled to have my film as a spotlight screening at the Los Angeles Film Festival,” said the Sweden-based Gertten. “Los Angeles is so central to the story. (The festival) is top notch and the fact that the actual case and the film’s lead subject (Dominguez) take place and are based in L.A. makes it that much more fitting.”

BANANAS!* is produced by Malmö Sweden-based WG Film and producer Margarete Jangård in co-production with Magic Hour Films (Denmark), ITVS International; Film i Skåne, SVT and Swedish Television(Sweden); with support from The Sundance Documentary Fund, The Swedish Film Institute; Danish Film Institute, Nordisk Film and TV Fond, ZDF/ARTE (Germany/France), YLE (Finland), NRK (Norway), TSR (Switzerland), VPRO (The Netherlands) and Odisea (Spain/Portugal).

For updated screening times and ticket information, please visit: www.lafilmfest.com/2009.

For more information, please contact:
David Magdael & Associates – Los Angeles
Winston Emano, wemano@tcdm-associates.com
David Magdael, dmagdael@tcdm-associates.com

Download this press release (PDF) »

May 5, 2009

About the film

Filed under: The Film — admin @ 10:00 pm

Juan “Accidentes” Dominguez is on his biggest case ever. On behalf of twelve Nicaraguan banana workers he is tackling Dole Food in a ground-breaking legal battle for their use of a banned pesticide that was known by the company to cause sterility. Can he beat the giant, or will the corporation get away with it? In the suspenseful documentary BANANAS!*, filmmaker Fredrik Gertten sheds new light on the global politics of food.

plantage_420x235

One third of the production price of the average banana is used simply to cover the cost of pesticides1. All over the world, banana plantation workers are suffering and dying from the effects of these pesticides. Juan Dominguez, a million-dollar personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles, is on his biggest case ever representing over 10,000 Nicaraguan banana workers claiming to be afflicted by a pesticide known as Nemagon. Dole Food and Dow Chemicals are on trial.

Burial
Byron burying his father Alberto Rosales

Another banana worker is being buried in a small northern town in Nicaragua. For his whole life, Alberto Rosales used his machete to remove weeds from below the banana plants. His son says his last years were filled with pain, a body that was itching all night — and in the end his kidneys stopped working.

Inside the church, filled with friends and family, Father Bayardo begins his sermon. It’s not about Alberto Rosales after awhile. It’s about pesticides. Father Bayardo is accusing landowners and US transnationals of immoral practices which he says cause the death and suffering of many members of his community.

Banana worker
Workers at a banana plantation

The whole region of Chinandega is an ecological disaster zone. The pesticide spray has left its mark everywhere. The soil, the water, the animals, the food of the people are all affected. The level of pesticides in breastmilk is 700 times higher than is acceptable2. Some say it will take 200 years for the ground to heal itself enough to produce natural crops again.

One of the pesticides, a DBCP-based compound called Nemagon, was banned in the USA in 1977 for causing male sterility. Standard Fruit—now Dole—continued to use the pesticide in its plantations outside the USA up to 1982.

Enter Juan Dominguez.

Dominguez, a personal injury lawyer and a member of the “Million Dollar Club” of attorneys in Southern California, is making history. As the legal representative of over 10,000 Nicaraguan banana workers, he is the first attorney ever to force American corporations to take responsibility for actions they have done outside US borders.

Juan Dominguez
Juan Dominguez giving a speech in Estelí, Nicaragua

This case has been followed by experts and companies all over the world.  If Dominguez is successful, it could rock the economic foundations of Dole and Dow, and would open the US courts to other global victims of US-based multinationals.  It would represent a new day in international justice, and there are further cases of a similar nature coming up next in many jurisdictions.

Accidentes billboard
Juan Dominguez billboard ad

More stills from the film »


References

  1. Anne Vézina quoted in Banana drama by Robin McKie, The Guardian, May 21, 2006.
  2. Marianela Corriols (PAHO/WHO) interviewed in Nuestro veneno de cada dia, documentary, 2005.

Interview with director Fredrik Gertten

Filed under: The Film — admin @ 1:10 pm

“I show the real world. But it’s the world seen through my eyes, and there are different ways to depict that,” says Fredrik Gertten – filmmaker and journalist.

Fredrik Gertten is one of Sweden’s most prominent documentary film makers. He is well known in his native country for films with a strong connection to the Malmö-region including Architectural projects like the Turning Torso skyscraper (The Socialist, the Architect and the Twisted Tower), the Öresund bridge (Walking on Water) and the local soccer team (True Blue).

An ordinary family is a story about a destitute middle class family in Argentina. It received moderate attention in Sweden, however, it became Gertten’s greatest international success with standing ovations from South Korea, the US. to Istanbul and one million television viewers in Poland.

“I am interested in the universality of a story, and since we finance our films internationally they naturally stretch outside the Swedish border. I want to make films that everyone can understand. None of our films were made for critics or cineastes. One of the best things in my line of work is when people approach me in the street to talk about one of my films.”

Gertten’s latest project BANANAS!* tells the story of how 12 banana plantation workers from Nicaragua sue the Dole company, one of the biggest food corporations in the world. Dole is accused of knowingly using a banned pesticide in the 70’s that may be linked to severe health problems and infertility among workers.

"What amazed me most is the audacity of a company like Dole to use a pesticide that was known to cause sterility. I wanted to learn more."

The Nicaraguan worker’s situation is by no means an isolated problem. During production of BANANAS!*, Gertten was contacted by several other Dole workers with similar stories, in regions as far apart as the Ivory Coast and the Philippines.

“The bananas we’ve been eating all these years look to have caused horrendous suffering for these people. To me it is very unsettling to find that out now. Who knows what chemicals are used on bananas today? Who knows if any consequences will be felt in 30 years? I want to highlight the moral dilemma – that the food we eat can have a high price tag for others.”

Fredrik Gertten started WG-Film in 1994 together with documentary filmmaker Lasse Westman. During the initial years they lived of external projects, investing all company assets in technical equipment, cameras and editing tools.

“It’s easier to get started nowadays, since equipment is so much cheaper. In most cases however, people make one or two films, then they get themselves a "real" job.”

Before venturing into filmmaking, Fredrik Gertten was a print journalist focusing on long, reflective articles from around the globe. An important aspect of his work can be traced back to those years – his fascination for “the little man.”

“I’m interested in telling the story of a nation through one single person in the street. That is more rewarding than meeting kings and presidents. For me, one of the greatest tasks of the political documentary is to show "the others". To portray them as fellow human beings we can respect, and not just as victims.”

Fredrik makes no attempt to hide that the casting is a vital part of his work. It is an often underestimated or even scorned process in the documentary world.

“A great story without a great main character leaves you with a less than great film. It’s as simple as that.”

The first attorney to bring a case in front of a US jury is Juan 
Dominguez, a Spanish speaking Cuban exile. In the film, Dominguez bridges the wide gap between the rich world and the poor workers, even though he was just a child when he arrived in the US. Juan is an Los Angeles based personal injury lawyer, specializing in automobile accidents and with a primarily Latino client base. The process against Dole is significantly larger than any case he’s previously taken on.

“We looked up his (Dominguez) web page and it was almost too good to be true. We couldn’t have written a better character ourselves. Duane Miller, Juan’s partner in this venture, is his exact opposite. Miller may be a more talented trial lawyer and specializes in court cases dealing with toxins and chemical pollution of the environment, but his reluctance to appear in the film is obvious. He wanted to focus completely on the case. That is a very reasonable position, however it does not translate into a great film.”

Gertten does not shy away from emphasizing certain character traits in the film with a facial expression, a sigh or a grin. At the same time he distances himself from what he calls "reality show dramaturgy" to project set roles onto the people involved.

“My guideline is that the subjects should be able to recognize themselves. Dole’s defense attorney Rick McKnight for instance is in many ways the bad guy in the film, but he is also portrayed as proud, sharp and alert. I don’t think he would object to that image of him.”

This illustrates one of Gertten’s convictions, not to create monsters on the screen. In BANANAS!* this is never more clear than when Dole’s former CEO David Delarenzo enters the witness stand. He was directly responsible on site in Nicaragua in the 70’s and gave the order to keep using pesticides already banned in the US.

“And in comes this nice little man with a Nicaraguan wife. The caricature with a tall black hat and a dollar grin seldom fits. Maybe the film would have packed a bigger punch if I had painted everything black and white, but it is just that kind of complexity that fascinates me.”

Gertten has become more and more secure in his film making. Where he would previously keep the cameras rolling to make sure no great shot was lost, he now works in a more deliberate and controlled fashion. Despite this, the raw material for BANANAS!* consisted of 50 days of court hearings and 60-70 hours of other footage. First Danish editor Jesper Osmund and dramaturgy consultant Niels Pagh went through everything. Then a strategic meeting was held discussing a possible structure. How does the film open? How do we portray Juan? If the audience doesn’t quite like him, will they still root for the plantation workers?

“US documentaries often begin with a really long cut. In the editing room they initially tend to have a version running several hours, and then they gradually trim it down to an acceptable length. Our method is instead to isolate potential scenes. First, situations with Juan through the entire narrative and next the Nicaraguan family, then Duane. We create several parallel threads that we spend two to three months working on, then we weave these together. This leaves us with an initial running time quite close to the final goal.”

A lot of the drama is created in editing, but the research and filming sets the tone for the entire film. For Gertten, it is about knowing what he is after. Asking the right question, but also being in the right place at the right time.

“Sometimes you feel instinctively that a shot will end up in the final cut. I sat in the courtroom when Rick McKnight held his final argument. I had been in Nicaragua, I had met the affected workers and I was intensely provoked by his mocking banter. I wanted my audience to feel the same thing.”

The final arguments are followed by another scene that puts a sharp focus on our own part in this story. To celebrate, Juan sends an employee to buy some liquor and mixers, and he returns with a bag full of Dole juice.

“That scene is absolutely real, and it clearly shows how trained we are as consumers. If not even these people think about what juices they buy, what would it take for the rest of us to break the pattern?”

Gertten points out that even though Dole obviously has an enormous responsibility for the lives of these people, our own attitudes are important as well.

“I eat less bananas now, but I consciously try not to quit entirely but instead choose Fair trade products. I don’t believe in being 100% orthodox. That goes for my private life as well as my films. I don’t want to preach morality and BANANAS!* shouldn’t leave the audience feeling guilty and depressed. Change does not come from despair, but from seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, that our actions actually matter.”

Interview by Orvar Säfström

 

 


Follow Fredrik on Twitter.com »

 

Film stills

Filed under: The Film — admin @ 11:00 am

Stills from BANANAS!*. Click on a thumbnail to see the photo in full size. For high resolution stills, please go to Press room »

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still_burial

still_assembly

worried

coffee

view

projection

phone

radio

miller

miller2

plane

worker

What is Nemagon?

Filed under: The Facts — admin @ 10:00 am

I was 21 years old, what did I know? Nobody told us anything. For two years, I applied Nemagon without mask, gloves or protecting clothing. You pump it directly into the ground. Sometimes, the pressure made the liquid splash right in your face. You could feel the hideous smell across 100 meters.
(Interview with banana plantation worker (1)

In the film BANANAS!*, twelve Nicaraguan banana plantation workers are suing Dole for concealing the dangers of a pesticide that they claim made them sterile.

The case is about Nemagon, one of many brand names for Dibromochloropropane (DBCP), a pesticide originally synthesized in 1955. It was used extensively all over the world until 1977, when employees who had handled the chemical at the Occidental Chemical plant in California were found to be sterile (2).

DBCP was used to protect many different crops: vegetables, nuts, fruits, beans and cotton. The target pest was nematodes, tiny worms living in the soil, feeding on the roots. The pesticide was either pumped directly into the ground, or sprayed into the air with irrigation guns (3).

In the 1960s, Standard Fruit (now Dole), Del Monte and United Fruit (now Chiquita) began to use Nemagon massively on Central American, Caribbean and Philippine banana plantations, as well as on sugar, pineapple and cotton plantations. Various chemical companies manufactured the pesticide: the Occidental Corporation, Dow Chemical and Shell Oil. Together, Dow and Shell exported as much as 24 million pounds of Nemagon each year during the 1970s until 1977 (4).

From 1977-1979, DBCP registrations were suspended by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which stopped most applications except for use on pineapples in Hawaii. In 1985, the EPA canceled all registrations (5).

Even as early as 1961, an internal Shell report recommended using impermeable protective clothing to prevent contact with the skin, because the product could have undesirable consequences for human reproduction (2, 6).

DBCP interrupts the hormones that act as the body’s “chemical messengers”. This can increase cancer risk and affect the reproduction system. Studies in both animals and humans have found that DBCP can cause low sperm counts and infertility in men (7). Exposure to high levels have also shown to cause kidney and liver damage (5).

Most of the studies conducted so far have focused on males, and it is difficult to confirm DBCP as a carcinogen causing tumors, especially breast cancer. This is because it takes many years before cancer evolves, and it is difficult to isolate DBCP as single factor (7).

However, there are strong reasons to suspect DBCP is the reason for several cases of cancer. Among males who worked up to three years on plantations during the 70s, researchers found an increase of lung cancer cases by 40 percent. Among males who applied pesticides for a period longer than three years, the cases of brain cancer increased by 80 percent (1).

It was mainly men who worked in the fields and applied the chemical. However, women got exposed to DBCP in the packing plants or when they sometimes removed weed or washed the men’s clothes. Children got exposed when they entered the plantations to bring lunch boxes to their fathers (1).

In El Viejo and other villages in Nicaragua’s banana-growing province of Chinandega, where activists estimate 16,500 people were harmed and more than 1,000 died from exposure, DBCP goes under the name "Death’s Dew” (3).

References:

  1. Jakten på den fullkomliga bananen ("The hunt for the perfect banana") – The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC), 2004
  2. Dibromochloropropane (DBCP): a review – National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
  3. Nicaragua fights for ‘Death’s Dew’ compensation – Newsday.com
  4. Victims of Nemagon Hit the Road – Envio.org
  5. Dibromochloropropane – Toxipedia.org
  6. Banana Workers Put Shell on Trial – Envio.org
  7. Pesticides and Breast Cancer Risk: Dibromochloropropane (DBCP) – Cornell University (2007)

See also:
Article and photo gallery from Newsday.com

Other DBCP brand names

BBC 12 Nemagon Nematox
Durham Nematocide Nemanax OS 1987
Fumagon Nemapaz Oxy DBCP
Fumazone Nemaset RCRA waste number U066
Gro-Tone Nematode Nemazon SD-1897
Nemabrom NCI-C00500 UN 2872
Nemafume Nematocide  

List source:
Pesticides and Breast Cancer Risk: Dibromochloropropane (DBCP) – Cornell University (2007)
Consumer Factsheet: Dibromochloropropane – EPA

Fairtrade unpeels the banana trade

Filed under: The Facts — admin @ 10:00 am

At noon the 6th of March, the Go bananas for Fairtrade campaign was launched. Thousands of UK citizens participated in the world’s biggest banana-eating event. The task was to eat a Fairtrade banana before noon the following day.

Along with the campaign, the Fairtrade Foundation published a report explaining how Fairtrade bananas in just nine years have come to account for 25 % of all bananas sold in the UK.

The report unravels the trade patterns of the banana during the past 15 years. EU agreements in response to WTO rulings have been in favour for large scale banana plantations, making it difficult for small scale plantations in the Caribbean to survive at all. Combined with steep price drops and natural disasters, this have put 20.000 out of 25.000 farmers in the Windward Islands out of business since 1992. However, Fairtrade has provided a lifeline for many of the remaining farmers by offering a fair and stable minimum price along with “premiums”, a kind of tagged money aimed for social improvements in the local community. Fairtrade also encourage environmentally sound agricultural practices, which is both better and cheaper for small scale plantations in the long run.

Without the premium price we would not be farming still. Farmers here are getting prices that do not cover their costs. We, however, have been able to cut fertilizer use by half and have started using animal manure. We have stopped using herbicides and the groundcover between plants is attracting back the wildlife.
– Deris Ariza, Asoproban, Colombia

One of the most disturbing facts in the report tells about how banana price wars in Europe strike downwards to the bottom of the supply chain. In UK supermarkets, it is common to cut prices on staples as bread, milk and bananas as a way of winning the hearts of price-conscious costumers. If these products are cheap, the store as a whole is considered cheap. Therefore, bananas are often subject to extreme price drops. According to the report, the retail price of bananas in UK shops fell by 41 % between 2002 and 2007. Unless supermarkets absorb these price cuts within their own profit margins, any drop in retail prices inevitably gets passed down the supply chain. This is forcing farmers to sell bananas below the price of production, which of course prolongs the terrible wages and working conditions in producer countries all over the world.

So what is the action plan for the future? The report outlines several urgent issues for the Fairtrade movement:

  • Keep buying Fairtrade bananas – only 100 % Fairtrade is good enough!
  • Retailers and importers should make specific, long-term commitments with small-scale producers.
  • The inclusion and respect for small farmers who respect high social and environmental standards must be ensured within the EU and WTO trade agreements.
  • Plantation workers are beneficiaries of the Fairtrade model. To further strengthen their rights, the experience and methods of independent trade unions must be integrated into the Fairtrade movement.
  • Retailers and supermarkets must recognize the vulnerable position of growers and workers and not to use bananas as weapons in their price wars unless they are bearing the costs themselves.
  • An unregulated banana market tends toward overproduction and therefore unsustainably low prices for producers. Companies and governments need to establish a permanent international banana forum exploring new types of agreements that includes social and environmental chapters.

Download the full report:
Unpeeling the banana trade (PDF)
Compiled and written by Alistair Smith for the Fairtrade Foundation, February 2009

“Go bananas for Fairtrade” campaign website:
www.fairtrade.org.uk/gobananas

Bananas!* wallpapers

Filed under: Take Action — admin @ 10:00 am

Tired of your old desktop wallpaper? Try one of these! Just choose a design and your resolution.

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Pesticide lawsuits – a DBCP overview

Filed under: The Facts — admin @ 10:00 am

Note: this article will not be updated. Please see the News section or the article BANANAS!* under fire – a timeline for the latest developments.

Background
During the 1970s, the pesticide DBCP (Dibromochloropropane) was used extensively on banana plantations all over the world. DBCP, originally synthesized in 1955, had many brand names, such as Nemagon and Fumazone (read more about DBCP here).

DBCP was used to protect many different crops: vegetables, nuts, fruits, beans and cotton. The target pest was nematodes, tiny worms living in the soil, feeding on the roots. The pesticide was either pumped directly into the ground, or sprayed into the air with irrigation guns.1

In 1977, employees who had handled DBCP at the Occidental Chemical plant in California were found to be sterile. Within months, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had suspended most uses of the chemical.2

In 1983, Sacramento attorney Duane Miller won a $4.9 million judgement against Dow on behalf of six of the Occidental plant workers. Two years later, the EPA permanently banned the use of DBCP in the United States.3

In March 1990, the Texas court announced they would allow cases with a foreign location as place of incident. This was not possible before due to a legal doctrine called “forum non conveniens”, which said lawsuits should be heard in the countries where the damage occurred.4

In 1992, this shift in regulation made it possible for 1,000 Costa Rican workers and their lawyers to win a case against Standard fruit (now Dole). The corporation agreed to pay $20 million to the affected workers. After legal fees, each worker was left with $1,500 to $15,000, depending on individual circumstances.5

In 1993, a class-action lawsuit was files in Texas by more than 16,000 banana plantation workers from Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Philippines. The target was several fruit and chemical companies, including Dole, Chiquita, Del Monte, Dow, Shell and Occidental. The companies agreed to pay a total of $41.5 million in 1997 to those who proved they were sterile. However, when all legal fees were paid, the affected workers received relatively small payments.6

 

The Nemagon movement

The Nicaraguan Nemagon movement is the strongest independent popular movement in modern Nicaragua. It started up in the early nineties when former banana workers started to share strange experiences. Children were born with birth defects, women had miscarriages and the men seemed to be sterile. The former workers also suffered from skin and kidney diseases.

Under the name ASOTRAEXDAN (Association of Workers and Former Workers with Claims against Nemagon), this movement started protesting. They demanded justice, health care and coffins to bury their dead. An in-depth story about this can be found in the Envio Magazine article Victims of Nemagon hit the road (June, 2005).

In 1999, ASOTRAEXDAN began to push for a law to be passed in Nicaragua that would allow Nicaraguan workers to sue foreign companies. The law, known as "law 364", was registered in January 2001. In short, law 364 was directly intended to give DBCP victims and their relatives the right to demand compensation from the companies who imported and applied the chemical in Nicaragua. The law was instantly criticized by the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua. They claimed the law being unfair to the transnational companies, and in March 2002, the Nicaraguan attorney general submitted a movement to the Nicaraguan Supreme Court to declare law 364 unconstitutional.7

In December 2002, Nicaragua’s Supreme Court ordered Dow Chemical Co., Shell Chemical Co. and Dole Food Co. to pay $490 million in compensation to 583 Nicaraguan banana workers. This landmark case was lead by plaintiff attorneys Thomas Girardi and Walter Lack, the same lawyers who fought the Erin Brockovich toxicity suit (which later became the blockbuster movie starring Julia Roberts).8

Neither Dow nor any of the other companies participated in the trial. Dow said they will not pay and called the judgment “unenforceable” because the case was supposed to be moved to a U.S. court. They also pointed at the previous claim of law 364 being unconstitutional. One year later, in October 2003, a judge in Los Angeles ruled that the judgment could not be enforced against the companies because they weren’t properly named or legally notified in the Nicaraguan court action.9

In April 2007, Amvac Chemical Co., one of the companies who produced and sold DBCP in the 1970s, agreed to pay a total of $300,000 to 13 Nicaraguan workers. In court papers, the company called the agreement a “compromise of disputed claims” and denied any wrongdoing.10

 

Tellez versus Dole

In 2004, Los Angeles based attorney Juan Dominguez teamed up with Duane Miller. Dominguez travelled to Nicaragua and started to register workers claiming they had been afflicted by the chemical. Over 10,000 clients were registered in Nicaragua alone.

In July 2007, the case was brought up in the Los Angeles Superior Court. Twelve workers alleged sterilization and accused Dole Food Co. and Dow Chemical Co. of negligence and fraudulent concealment in using DBCP. Compared to the cases from ’92 and ’93, this case was unique since no previous DBCP case had ever been presented to jurors.11

The companies acknowledged that DBCP can be linked to male sterility and that the product was used in Nicaraguan banana plantations. Dow also acknowledged that the possibility of harm existed, but said the product was safe as long as instructions were followed. Also, they claimed the quantities of DBCP were too small, and the open-air conditions too diffuse to harm workers.12

In 1977, Dow stopped their production of DBCP. Not only did Dole admit in court to using DBCP after this date, it demanded Dow to continue delivering it, or else Dow would be in breach of contract.

In November, 2007, the Los Angeles jury awarded $3.2 million to six of the twelve workers in compensatory damages. Jurors found that DBCP was defective and that its risks outweighed its benefits. They also found that Dole acted with malice and actively concealed the danger from its own workers.

Dow’s share of the damages ranged from 20% to 40% of the awards to each worker. Dow contended that the chemical was not defective if administered properly, and Dole denied that it had fraudulently concealed the danger. Dole called the verdicts unjust and appealed.13

Two weeks later, the jury added an additional $2.5 million in punitive damages against Dole as punishment for concealing the dangers of DBCP.

One of Dole’s attorneys, Rick McKnight, said the verdict was ”a huge defeat” for the workers. ”It doesn’t even pay their costs, much less their bills”, he said.14

Duane Miller said the verdict sends an important message to Dole: ”It lets [them] know that they’re accountable for what they do, even if they do it south of our border”, he said. ”Our reputation as a country is partially dependent on the reputations of our corporations doing things overseas”.15

But the case was not closed. In March 2008, the punitive damages were reduced by Judge Victoria Chaney from $2.5 million to six workers – to $1.58 million to four workers. Chaney found that because Dole was a user of the pesticide, not a marketer, the firm could not be subjected to liability without fault. She also reasoned that punitive damages may not be used to punish ”a domestic corporation for injuries that occurred only in a foreign country”.16

Dole later appealed and the case is still (May, 2009) pending in California.

 

The fraud case

In November 2008, Juan Dominguez brought two other DBCP cases on behalf of former Nicaraguan banana workers to the Los Angeles Superior Court.17

Dole claimed that all but one of 11 plaintiffs in the two cases had never worked on banana plantations and that the men were paid and coached by their attorneys. Several witnesses testified on videotape, some of them anonymous (the “John Doe witnesses”) since they claimed they feared for their lives for exposing the fraud.

In April 2009, Judge Victoria Chaney dismissed the cases.

“We’ll never know if anybody in Nicaragua was actually injured or harmed by the alleged wrongful conduct of the defendants, and people will never have the opportunity to learn, since this fraud is so pervasive and extensive that it has forever contaminated even our own ability to ever know the truth”, Chaney said during the April 23 hearing.

In May 2009, Dole attorneys tried to stop the film BANANAS!* from being shown based on the trailer. The film contains interviews with Juan Dominguez and courtroom scenes from the Tellez trial.

Judge Chaney refused to stop the film.

“Just so we’re clear, I am not in any way going to make, and I will not consider, any request for prior restraint on free speech”, Chaney said during the May 8 hearing.

Note: this article will not be updated. Please see the News section or the article BANANAS!* under fire – a timeline for the latest developments.

 

Links to the available transcripts from the Los Angeles court hearings:

 

Articles about the fraud case:

 

Notes and references

  1. Nicaragua fights for “Death’s Dew” compensation
    Letta Tayler, Newsday.com, Dec 2, 2006
  2. Dibromochloropropane (DBCP): a review
    National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
  3. Plantation workers look for justice in the North
    Christian Miller, Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2007
  4. Plantation workers look for justice in the North
    Christian Miller, Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2007
  5. Pesticide Hazard in Costa Rica
    TED Case Studies
  6. Banana Workers Win Against Dow, Shell and Standard Fruit
    Pesticide Action Network, Jan 6, 2003
  7. Death Sentence – an honorable job
    Richard Leonardi, Mar 31, 2003
  8. L.A. attorneys may face punishment in Dole case
    Alexa Hyland, L.A. Business Journal, June 16, 2008
  9. Dole, Dow and Shell Win Dismissal of Suit
    Los Angeles Times, Oct 25, 2003
  10. Pesticide company settles sterility suit for $300,000
    Christian Miller, Los Angeles Times, Apr 16, 2007
  11. Pesticide trial begins against Dole and Dow
    Christian Miller, Los Angeles Times, Jul 20, 2007
  12. Plantation workers look for justice in the North
    Christian Miller, Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2007
  13. Dole must pay farmworkers $3.2 million
    John Spano, Los Angeles Times, Nov 6, 2007
  14. Dole must pay $2.5 million to farmhands
    John Spano, Los Angeles Times, Nov 16, 2007
  15. Dole must pay $2.5 million to farmhands
    John Spano, Los Angeles Times, Nov 16, 2007
  16. L.A. judge reduces Dole’s damages in pesticide case
    John Spano, Los Angeles Times, Mar 11, 2008
  17. Mejia, et al. v. Dole Food Company, Inc., et al. and Rivera, et al. v. Dole Food Company, Inc., et al.

Screenings

Filed under: The Film — admin @ 9:00 am

For an updated screenings list, please go to:
www.wgfilm.com/english/productions/productions/bananas »

Festival Résistances
Foix, France
2011.07.08 – 2011.07.16

Sembrando Cine
Peru
2011.06.15 – 2011.06.21

GA Alma et Chicoutimi-Nord
Alma, Quebec, Canada
2011.05.14

Park Slope Food Coop
Brooklyn, US
2011.05.10

Maysles Cinema (sneak preview)
Harlem, New York
2011.05.09

Kino Xenix
Zürich, Schweiz
2011.05.08 – 2011.05.29

Festival Economia
Trento/Roveto
2011.05.04

Cinema Politica
Truro, Canada
2011.05.02

Moviemento
Linz, Austria
2011.04.29

Food & Film
Savona, Italy
2011.04.20

Cinema Politica
Windsor, Canada
2011.04.07

Cinema Politica
Truru, NS, Canada
2011.04.04

Food Film Festival
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2011.03.18 – 2011.03.20

Rassegna di cinema documentario al Baretti
Torino, Italy
2011.03.16

Festival Internacional de Cine de Punta del Este
Uruguay
2011.03.13 – 2011.03.21

Agenda 21
Åland
2011.03.05

San Francisco Green Film Festival
San Francisco, USA 
2011.03.03 – 2011.03.06

Kino im kesselhaus
Krems, Austria
2011.03.02

Cartagena International Film Festival
Catagena, Colombia
2011.02.24 – 2011.03.03

Worldbridger Film Series
Vancouver, US
2011.02.23 – 2011.02.24

Måndagsdokumentären
Copenhagen, Denmark
2011.02.21

Biblioteket, Hörsalen
Ängelholm, Sverige

2011.02.14

The International Student Festival 
Trondheim, Norway 
2011.02.11 – 2011.02.20

Cinema Politica, Mount Allison University
Sackville, NB, Canada
2011.02.07

Husie Medborgarkontor
Malmö, Sweden
2011.02.02

Memorial University
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
2011.02.02

Kriterion
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2011.01.30

Agenda 21, Cafe Bönan
Mariehamn, Åland
2011.01.27

Frontline Club
London, UK
2011.01.24

Austrian Theatrical release
Vienna, Linz
2011.01.21

UCLA
Los Angeles, USA
2011.01.19

ORF2 (Television)
Austria
2011.01.16

Top Kino Matinée
Vienna, Austria
2011.01.15

Top Kino
Vienna, Austria
2011.01.14

Scandinavia House 
New York, USA 
2010.11.17 – 2010.11.20

Nordox, Nordic Documentary Film Festival
Beijing, China
2010.11.13 – 2010.11.25

Tutti nello stesso piatto
International Food, Film & Videodiversity Festival
Trento, Italy
2010.11.10 – 2010.12.10

The screening room at the Mercury Cinema
Adelaide, Australia 
2010.11.03

American Scandinavian Foundation 
New York, USA 
2010.11.03

Ad Hoc: Inconvenient Films Human Rights Film Festival 
Vilnius, Lithuania 
2010.10.23 – 2010.11.09

DOCSDF International Film Festival 
Mexico 
2010.10.21 – 2010.10.31

Latinamerikagruppen 
Eskilstuna, Sweden 
2010.10.20

Saint Michaels College 
Colchester, VT, USA 
2010.10.16

Alianza Francesa 
Managua, Nicaragua 
2010.10.06 – 2010.10.07

Internazionale a Ferrara Festival 
Rome, Italy 
2010.10.01 – 2010.10.10

Task Force on Americas 
Marin County, CA, USA 
2010.10.01

Criterio Ambiental 
Costa Rica 
2010.09.25 – 2010.10.01

Casa Canadiense 
Toronto, Canada 
2010.09.18

Matsalu Nature Film Festival 
Lihula, Estonia 
2010.09.15 – 2010.09.19

Kinogalerija 
Rīga, Latvija 
2010.09.11 – 2010.09.12

INZG In Zagreb Festival 
Zagreb, Croatia 
2010.09.10 – 2010.09.11

DMZ Korean International Documentary Festival 
Swedish Embassy, Seoul, South Korea 
2010.09.09 – 2010.09.13

VIVISECTfest
Novi Sad, Serbia 
2010.09.07 – 2010.09.11

Chungmuro International Film Festival 
South Korea 
2010.09.02 – 2010.09.10

Baltic Sea Forum 
Latvia 
2010.09.02 – 2010.09.12

Melbourne Interantional Film Festival 
Melbourne, Australia 
2010.07.22 – 2010.08.08

Letizia Onlus project "June a month for Nicaragua" 
Rome, Italy 
2010.06.30

The Chapter Cardiff
Canton, UK 
June 28 – July 1, 2010

Downtown Independent
Los Angeles, USA
June 23, 2010

Ecofilms – Rodοs International Films + Visual Arts Festival 
Rodos, Greece 
June 22-27, 2010

FICA International Film Festival
Goiânia, Brasil 
June 8-13, 2010

Edinburgh Filmhouse 
Edinburgh, UK
June 7-10, 2010

Berkshire International Film Festival
Massachusetts, USA
June 3-7, 2010

Transilvania International Film Festival 
Transilvania, Romania
May 28 – June 6, 2010

Real Earth Environmental Film Festival 
New Zealand 
May 22, 2010

Encontro Internacional de Capoeira 
Angola Montpellier, Brazil 
May 14-16, 2010

Dalhousie University 
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 
May 13, 2010

Karlstor-Kino 
Heidelberg, Germany 
May 12, 2010

Victoria Film Festival 
Victoria, CA, USA 
May 8, 2010

Biograf Spegeln 
Malmö, Sweden 
May 8, 2010

"Let’s go BANANAS!*"
Bio Rio, Stockholm, Sweden 
May 8, 2010

DOXA Documentary Film Festival 
Vancouver, Canada 
May 7-16, 2010

7 Planete Doc Review Film Festival 
Warsaw, Poland 
May 7-16, 2010

Wehrenberg Theatres, Rochester
Maine, USA, 
May 4, 2010

Swedish cinema screenings, winter 2009-2010:
Norsborg, Dec 3
Lund, Kino, Dec 12 (with director visit)
Göteborg, Haga, Dec 11-17, March 1, April 22
Stockholm, Zita, Dec 15
Gislaved, Filmstudion, Jan 25
Kristianstad, Filmmuséet, Feb 07
Vetlanda, Saga, Feb 25
Järfälla, Folkets hus Kallhäll, Mar 22
Upplands Väsby, Centrumbiografen, Mar 23
Halmstad, Röda Kvarn, Filmstudion, Mar 25 
Norrköping, Bio Harlekinen, April 1
Malmö, Spegeln, April 5-18

International Documentary Film Festival DOCVILLE 
Leuven, Belgium 
May 1-8, 2010

Boston Independent Film Festival 
Boston, USA 
April 21-28, 2010

Institute of Contemporary Arts 
London, UK 
April 16-25, 2010

Visions du Réel Film Festival 
Nyon, Switzerland 
April 15-21, 2010

Norsk filminstitutt: Cinemateket
Oslo, Norway 
April 14, 2010

Yale Environmental Film Festival 
New Haven, United States
April 6-11, 2010

International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival 
Kiew, Ukraine 
Mar 26 – Apr 2, 2010

Skövde Dokumentärfilmsfestival 
Skövde, Sweden 
March 25-28, 2010

Cleveland International Film Festival 
Cleveland, OH, United States 
March 18-28, 2010

LA69 Casa de cultura 
Mérida Yucatán, Mexico 
March 25, 2010

Thessaloniki International Film Festival 
Thessaloniki, Greece 
March 12-21, 2010

One World International Film Festival 
Prag, Czech Republic 
March 10-18, 2010

Cinema Planeta
Cuernavaca, Mexico
March 5-14, 2010

Vera Filmfestival
Mariehamn, Åland
March 7, 2010

Washington DC Independent Film & Music Festival 
Washington DC, United States 
March 4-14, 2010

Dunkers kulturhus (Eko-dagarna)
(With director visit)
Helsingborg, Sweden 
Febrary 26-27, 2010

Caligari FilmBuehne Wiesbaden 
Wiesbaden, Germany 
February 24, 2010

Ystad Församling – Film i Fastan 
Ystad, Sweden 
February 21, 2010

Medioteket 
Stockholm, Sweden 
February 08-26, 2010

Berlinale International Film Festival 
Berlin, Germany 
February 11-21, 2010

This human world
Vienna, Austria 
December 3-13, 2009

Bratislava International Film Festival 
Bratislava, Slovenia 
Nov 27 – Dec 4, 2009

Oslo International Film Festival 
Oslo, Norway 
November 19-29

Nordox Nordic Documentary Film Festival
Beijing, China 
Nov 14 – Dec 6, 2009

IDFA International Documentary Film Festival 
Amsterdam, Netherlands 
November 19-29, 2009

Festival Européen des 4 écrans
Paris, France 
November 18-20, 2009

Aarhus Filmfestival Aarhus
Aarhus, Denmark 
November 12-15, 2009
(BANANAS!* screens at the kick-off on Sunday, November 8th!)

RIDM – Rencontres internationales du documentaire
Montreal, Canada 
November 11-21, 2009

Sevilla Festival de Cine Europeo
(In competition)
Sevilla, Spain 
November 6-14, 2009

CPH:DOX 
Copenhagen, Denmark 
November 6-15, 2009

Leeds International Film Festival
Leeds, UK
November 4-22, 2009

Ung Forum 
Lund, Sweden 
October 30, 2009

M:DOX Film Festival 
Malmö, Sweden 
October 23-25, 2009

Mostra Internacional de Cinema 
Sao Paulo, Brazil 
Oct 23 – Nov 5, 2009

CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival 
New York, USA 
October 20-24, 2009

Dramatiska institutet 
Stockholm, Sweden 
October 19, 2009

Swedish premiere, October 2009:
Båstad, Scala, Oct 9
Fagersta, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Gusum, Folkan bio, Oct 9
Göteborg, Roy, Oct 9
Göteborg, Haga, Oct 30
Haparanda, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Järfälla, Folkets hus Kallhäll, Oct 9
Karlstad, Arenan, Oct 26-27
Kumla, Folkan, Oct 11
Lidköping, Folkets hus, Oct 23
Lund, Kino, Oct 9
Malmö, Spegeln, Oct 9
Mörrum, Bio Laxen, Oct 9
Norrköping, Harlekinen, Oct 18 & 25
Nynäshamn, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Osby, Bio Borgen, Oct 9
Skärhamn, Saga, Oct 9
Skoghall, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Stockholm, Rio, Oct 9
Stockholm, Zita, Oct 9
Söråker, Folkets hus, Oct 14
Tomelilla, Brösarps bio, Oct 9
Trollhättan, Forum/Folkets hus, Oct 9
Uppsala, Fyris, Oct 9 (no broadcast)
Umeå, Folkets bio, Oct 16
Västerås, Elektra, Oct 9
Växjö, Palladium, Oct 22
Ånge, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Åseda, Folkets hus, Oct 9
Älmhult, Folkan, Oct 13
Örebro, Roxy, Oct 9
Östersund, Regina, Oct 9 (no broadcast)

Doc Lounge screenings:
Göteborg, Sweden, Oct 7
Oulu, Finland, Oct 7
Stockholm, Sweden, Oct 6
Malmö, Sweden, Oct 5
Tampere, Finland, Oct 1
Helsinki, Finland, Sep 25

BANANAS!* gala premiere
Malmö, Sweden
Royal, October 8, 2009

Nordisk Panorama
Reykjavik, Iceland
September 28, 2009

Malmö Filmdagar 
Malmö, Sweden 
August 24-27, 2009

Folkets hus och parkers Filmdagar 
Piteå, Sweden 
August 13-16, 2009

Film i Båstad
Båstad, Sweden 
August 1, 2009

Los Angeles Film Festival 
California, USA 
June 18-28, 2009

May 4, 2009

BANANAS!* – why the asterisk?

Filed under: The Film — admin @ 3:01 pm

What’s hidden under that pretty, yellow skin? What stories can be found? Rebeca Méndez is the designer of the visual identity for BANANAS!*, and in particular responsible for the asterisk behind the title.

“The original movie title BANANAS! had a two-fold edge; it means that bananas are the subject matter of the film, and the exclamation mark makes it into a widely known catch phrase used to exclaim indignity and disbelief about an absurd situation, as in: ‘This mess is so bananas!’ We wanted to add a third dimension of awareness to the title that tells you there is more to find out about bananas. There is a footnote to its jolly image, this information that has been omitted, that once revealed will make you think twice about the food that we consume.”

“The asterisk is our engine to activate a movement, and, in hindsight, it is perhaps also our saving grace. With the addition of an asterisk to the title we acquire this built-in force to expose the rotten state of affairs behind the delicious bananas. The wholesome banana of modern pop culture, one of the most popular fruits in the western world, is not as innocent as it seems. The pesticides used to grow that golden yellow banana are possibly causing widespread disease, deformity and death among the workers and their families on the plantations in the tropical regions of our planet. The asterisk allows us to question this situation. By adding this universally understood typographic character we acquire a method to reveal unjust circumstances and affect behavior. It has the potential to become a tool to unmask unethical business practices in any industry. That’s the idea and ambition. ”

Rebeca MéndezRebeca Méndez

Ms Méndez was creative director at a giant advertising agency, creating multimillion dollar campaign identities for the world’s largest brands. Now she is professor at UCLA in Design and Media Arts, and in her design research and practice concentrates on critical reflections of visual communication practices, in particular on brand identity and consumer culture, to encourage formation of independent opinion and participation.

“When I left advertising I was interested in applying those lessons of mass market messaging to non-profit or cultural organizations, where the motive is not monetary profit, but spreading a social awareness. For example, the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women (LACAAW) approached me in 2003 to give them a new name and visual identity. This resulted in developing the concept of a name like an engine. We gave them the name Peace Over Violence, where “[blank] Over Violence” is the engine, and can be adapted by anyone who wants to sign up to the cause; it can be ‘Juan Over Violence’, ‘Dole Over Violence’, ‘Bananas Over Violence’. Because non-profit agencies and many cultural institutions do not have big budgets to spend on marketing and advertising, you have to find this force within, so it will propel itself and do the work for you. When Fredrik Gertten (the maker of BANANAS!*) saw this work, he asked me to come up with an engine for his movie. His desire and vision was to create a design for all media that encourages you to learn more and get involved. This became the ‘*’ or asterisk.”

With her husband Adam Eeuwens, a writer and strategist and also partner in her studio Rebeca Méndez Design, Méndez developed the core brand identity for BANANAS!*, designing the logotype, its color palette, initial campaign ideas, and a set of brand guidelines. Then she handed the package to her Fall 2008 Visual Communication class of senior students at UCLA, and gave them the assignment to create a comprehensive communication strategy and design across all media for BANANAS!*

“The first step in the creative process is to immerse yourself in research on the subject matter, and the Internet holds a wealth of material, from old commercials with singing bananas on You Tube to Wikipedia facts on the origin of the term “banana republic,” to Dole’s own home page. You explore any lead to ignite the creative spark; to turn strategy into story.”

“For a class course of ten weeks, the students did well, and a lot of their ideas had influence and even a few of their designs made it to the final cut. The BANANAS!* Twitter ticker on the front page on the website picks up on everyone using the word ‘banana,’ ‘pesticides’ and ‘Nicaragua’ in their twitter messages, and is an idea conceived and coded by one the students. And the bananas photos for the poster were made by a student who bought them fresh and photographed the rotting process for weeks until they were completely black and fluid.”

“A lot of the student work followed the angle of the implications of pesticide use on the health of the consumers. One factoid we got from the Swedes was about chimpanzees in the zoo in Copenhagen who eat organic bananas skin and all, while they peel the bananas treated with pesticides. That fact alone changed awareness and a couple of habits in the class. It was interesting to notice that the students have a very keen understanding that everything in the world is connected, and immediately sense that what pesticide goes around at one point must come around. It is obscene to them that personal profit could be more important than the public good.”

Student concept sketch for flag asterisk animations

What is BANANAS!*

Filed under: Trailers — admin @ 3:00 pm

Interview with Fredrik Gertten, director of BANANAS!*

Part 1 of 3:
– What is BANANAS!*
– How did you first hear about this story?
– When shooting, how much time did you spend in Nicaragua vs Los Angeles?

Interview by Orvar Säfström

Film credits

Filed under: The Film — admin @ 2:00 pm

BANANAS!* is produced by WG Film in co-production with:
Magic Hour Films Denmark
ITVS International USA
ZDF in co operation with ARTE (Sabine Bubeck- Paaz)
Film i Skåne (Joakim Strand)
SVT Sweden (Axel Arnö)

With the support from:
Swedish Film Institute (Peter "Piodor" Gustafsson)
Danish Film Institute (Miriam Nørgaard)
Nordisk Film & TV Fond (Eva Færevaag)

In association with:
YLE Finland (Iikka Vehkalathi)
NRK Norway (Tore Tomter)
TSR Switzerland (Gaspard Lamuniere)
VPRO Netherlands (Nathalie Windhorst)
Odisea Spain (Roberto Blatt)

This film was supported by a grant from the
Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program

Developed with the support of the
MEDIA Programme of the European Union

Executive Producer for ITVS: Sally Jo Fifer

ITVS International is made possible by:
The Ford Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

ITVS Magic Hour ZDF arte
FISK SVT SFI DFI
NFTF YLE NRK TSR
MEDIA Sundance Odisea VPRO
Dolby    

WG Film
Since 1994 producing and developing author driven documentaries. In Sweden famous for local stories with universal understanding. Also active in the international co-financing world with five documentaries sold to over forty broadcasters in 25 countries.

E-mail: film@wgfilm.com
Website: www.wgfilm.com
Full contact details »

Fredrik Gertten

Director

Fredrik GerttenFilmmaker & producer at WG film, Sweden. Fredrik Gertten speaks fluent Spanish and has worked as a journalist in Nicaragua in the eighties and nineties.

Selected films, producer: Milkbar, Dir. Terese Mörnvik & Ewa Einhorn, 2007; Thin Ice, Dir. Håkan Berthas 2006; Belfast Girls, Dir. Malin Andersson, 2006; Boogie Woogie Daddy, Dir. Erik Bäfving, 2002. In development: Cassady Credentials, documentary, Dir. Maria Ramström & Malin Korkeasalo; Forest, documentary, Dir. Helena Nygren & Jacob Andrén. Selected films, producer & director: The Socialist, The Architect & the Twisted Tower, 2005; An Ordinary Family, 2005; Just a piece of steel / Bye Bye Malmö, 2003; Walking on Water, 2000, (co-directed with Lars Westman); The Way Back – True Blue 2, 2002, co-directed with Magnus Gertten and Stefan Berg.

Contact: fredrik@wgfilm.com
Follow Fredrik on Twitter.com »

Margarete Jangård

Producer

Margarete JangårdEmployed at WG Film since six years as producer. Has been in the media business for 20 years. Worked as freelance film worker for some years, at SVT Drama and commercial/information films. EAVE graduate 2005.

Projects: Milkbar, Dir. Terese Mörnvik & Ewa Einhorn, 2007; Thin Ice, Dir. Håkan Berthas 2006; Belfast Girls, Dir. Malin Andersson, 2006; The Socialist, The Architect & the Twisted Tower, Dir. Fredrik Gertten, 2005; An Ordinary Family, Dir. Fredrik Gertten, 2005. In development: Cassady Credentials, documentary, Dir. Maria Ramström & Malin Korkeasalo; Forest, documentary, Dir. Helena Nygren & Jacob Andrén.

Contact: margarete@wgfilm.com

Bart Simpson

Producer, Canada

Bart Simpson is best known as producer of the feature documentary The Corporation, which has won over 25 international awards and is the highest-grossing domestic documentary in Canadian history. It played theatrically in over 10 countries and ran for over 6 months on screens in Canada and the UK before a popular television premiere. Zeitgeist Films distributed the film in the United States. Bart is also immediate past Chair of the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC).

Selected credits: Moebius Redux: A Life In Pictures, 2007; The Corporation, 2004; Two Brides and a Scalpel, Diary of a Lesbian Marriage, 2000; Visits with Max, director/producer, 1996.

Contact: bart@wgfilm.com

Frank Pineda

Director of photography

Worked in more than 100 productions, documentary and features in 35mm, 16mm and video. Collaborated with some Internationals News Agencies and TV Channels as: NBC, ABC, TVE, BBC, Channel 4, etc. In 1990 sets up Camila Films, an independent production company in Nicaragua. The World Stopped Watching, Dir. Peter Raymont, 2002, The lovers of San Fernando, Dir. Peter Torbiornsson, 2001, Documentary 16mm. SVT. Machos, Dir. Lucinda Broadbent, 2000, Produced by BBC, London. Carla’s Song, Dir. Ken Loach, 1995, feature film, 35mm.

Jesper Osmund

Editor

Was born in 1964 and works as an editor since 1991. He has edited 6 fiction feature films, about 35 documentaries and more than 600 commercials. Documentaries include: An Ordinary Family, Dir. Fredrik Gertten/WG Film, 2005; Selection of IDFA Amsterdam, Thessaloniki, Zagreb, Buenos Aires, a.o. The Well, 2004 Dir. K. Petri/Charon Film; Nomination to the Swedish Golden Bug. Festivals of Toronto, Montreal, Seattle, Amsterdam a.o.

Nils Pagh Andersen

Narrative consultant

Denmark’s best documentary film editor with more than 250 films of widely different categories. Some examples of his award winning work are: Pathfinder, 1986 Dir. Nils Gaup; feature nominated for an Oscar; Walking on Water, 2000 Dir. Fredrik Gertten & Lars Westman; Three rooms of Melancholia, 2004 Dir. Pirjo Honkasalo; The Winner of The Grand Prix of Krakow, One world award, Krystalle; Prostitution behind the Veil, 2004 Dir. Nahid Persson, Emmy- nominated, The Grand Prix of Odense Film festival and Nordic Panorama; The German Secret, 2005 Dir. Lars Johansson; Flying Confessions of a Free Woman, 2006 Dir. Jennifer Fox.

Nathan Larson AKA Hot One Inc

Composer/musician/producer

Music for film, television and commercials, including among many others: Boy’s Don’t Cry, 1999, Dir. Kim Pierce, Fox Searchlight; A Love Song For Bobby Long, 2004, Dir. Shainee Gabel, El Camino/ Lion’s Gate; Dirty Pretty Things, 2003, Dir. Stephen Frears, Miramax; Phone Booth, 2003, Dir. Joel Schumacher, Fox (“additional music”); Velvet Goldmine, 1998, Dir. Todd Haynes, Miramax.

Website: www.hot-one.org

Joe Aguirre

Director of photography

Joe Aguirre is a freelance camera man based in Los Angeles. In six years of working with director/camera man Samuel Bayer, Joe has collaborated in the filming of commercials for ESPN, Pepsi, Nike, and Microsoft, and music videos for Green Day and My Chemical Romance. He was a camera man on upcoming Sony releases Quarantine and Obsessed, and on Jack Johnson’s 2008 European Tour documentary. Next Year Country, an ITVS funded documentary he directed and shot, will be his directorial debut.

Rebeca Méndez

Designer and creative director

Professor at UCLA Design | Media Arts, is a brand design expert, formerly leading the Brand Integration Group at Ogilvy & Mather in Los Angeles. Has her own design studio Rebeca Méndez Design since 1996, where she works for clients such as architects Thom Mayne and Frank Gehry, and motion graphics powerhouse Imaginary Forces. Méndez is also an exhibiting artist. She has participated in numerous exhibitions worldwide and her work is represented in public and private collections including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The National Design Museum, New York, Denver Art Museum, and Museo Jose Luis Cuevas, Mexico City.

Website: rebecamendez.com


Full credit list » (PDF)

The making of BANANAS!*

Filed under: Trailers — admin @ 2:00 pm

Interview with Fredrik Gertten, director of BANANAS!*

Part 2 of 3:
– How do you create “the drama” in a film like this?
– How important is the character Juan Dominguez for this film?

Interview by Orvar Säfström

Contact

Filed under: Contact — admin @ 1:38 pm

For information and press enquiries, please contact:
David Magdael & Associates – Los Angeles
Winston Emano, wemano@tcdm-associates.com
David Magdael, dmagdael@tcdm-associates.com
Phone: +1 213 624 7827

Worldwide festivals:
AUTLOOK FILMSALES GmbH
Festival manager: Andrea Hock, festival@autlookfilms.com
Phone: +43 720 34 69 34
www.autlookfilms.com

Worldwide sales:
AUTLOOK FILMSALES GmbH
Theatrical-sales manager: Astrid Guger, astrid@autlookfilms.com Phone: +43 720 34 69 34
or
TV-sales manager: Salma Abdalla, salma@autlookfilms.com
Phone: +43 720 34 69 34
www.autlookfilms.com

 

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WG Film AB
Västergatan 23
SE-211 21
Malmö, Sweden

Phone: +46 (0)40 781 50
+46 (0)40 23 20 98

Fax: +46 (0)40 23 35 10

E-mail: film@wgfilm.com
Website: www.wgfilm.com

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