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”.

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Read more at www.bigboysgonebananas.com »

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Not yet available in United States, Canada, Germany, Austria and France.

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

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:

• October 6, 2009: Why is Dole suing a filmmaker?

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.

• Download the full closing letter » (PDF)

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

• California State Bar Vindicates Attorney Juan Dominguez
  (Eworldwire PDF)

It also includes a Spanish version.

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 »

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 »

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 »

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)