Festivals: IDFA Amsterdam
The biggest of them all takes place in Amsterdam (November 19-29). The programme is not yet announced, that will happen on October 15, but here is a press release that again is an evidence of the growth of the political film:
The themes of the environment and globalisation will play an important role in the festival programme at the upcoming IDFA. As in previous years, various aspects of the environment issue and globalisation will be discussed under the title Green Screen. This year, the accent will be on the exploitation of natural resources and the global food industry.
What was still a special programme at IDFA 2005, is now a recurring theme at IDFA. Each year, under the title Green Screen, documentaries are screened on all manner of aspects of the worldwide environmental issue. Last year, for example, The Age of Stupid screened at IDFA and – contrary to recent reports in the media – the film had its world première on that occasion. This year too, Green Screen documentaries of great interest have been selected, both in the competition programmes and in Reflecting Images.
A number of these Green Screen films focus on the exploitation of natural resources and pollution by large companies. In Crude, Joe Berlinger follows the court case being conducted against Texaco by 30,000 Ecuadorians, whose living environment has been destroyed by oil extraction. Oil is also the topic of Nicole Torre’s Houston We Have a Problem. The film investigates how our dependence on oil has led to the current energy crisis, and looks at clean alternatives. Another sub-theme of Green Screen is the global food industry. Colony by Ross McDonnell and Carter Gunn deals with the worrying phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), whereby colonies of bees become disoriented and disappear. Food Inc. by Carter Gunn focuses on the American food industry and investigates how the food sold in supermarkets is produced. In total, some fifteen Green Screen titles will be screened.
