Title | Crude

Production Date | 2009

Running time | 96 min

Director | Joe Berlinger

Rating | NR

Website | View website

Three years in the making, this cin�ma-v�rit� feature from acclaimed filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Brother�s Keeper, Paradise Lost, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster) is the epic story of one of the largest and most controversial environmental lawsuits on the planet. The inside story of the infamous �Amazon Chernobyl� case, Crude is a real-life high stakes legal drama, set against a backdrop of the environmental movement, global politics, celebrity activism, human rights advocacy, the media, multinational corporate power, and rapidly-disappearing indigenous cultures. Presenting a complex situation from multiple viewpoints, the film subverts the conventions of advocacy filmmaking, exploring a complicated situation from all angles while bringing an important story of environmental peril and human suffering into focus. The landmark case takes place in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador, pitting 30,000 indigenous and colonial rainforest dwellers against the U.S. oil giant Chevron. The plaintiffs claim that Texaco � which merged with Chevron in 2001 � spent three decades systematically contaminating one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth, poisoning the water, air and land. The plaintiffs allege that the pollution has created a �death zone� in an area the size of the Rhode Island, resulting in increased rates of cancer, leukemia, birth defects, and a multiplicity of other health ailments. They further allege that the oil operations in the region contributed to the destruction of indigenous peoples and irrevocably impacted their traditional way of life. Chevron vociferously fights the claims, charging that the case is a complete fabrication, perpetrated by �environmental con men� who are seeking to line their pockets with the company�s billions. The case takes place not just in a courtroom, but in a series of field inspections at the alleged contamination sites, with the judge and attorneys for both sides trudging through the jungle to litigate. And the battleground has expanded far beyond the legal process. The cameras rolled as the conflict raged in and out of court, and the case drew attention from an array of celebrities, politicians and journalists, and landed on the cover of Vanity Fair. Some of the film�s subjects sparked further controversy as they won a CNN �Hero� award and the Goldman Award, the environmental equivalent of the Nobel Prize. Shooting in dozens of locations on three continents and in multiple languages, Berlinger and his crew gained extraordinary access to players on all sides of the legal fight and beyond, capturing the drama as it unfolded while the case grew from a little-known legal story to an international cause c�l�bre. Crude is a ground-level view of one of the most extraordinary legal dramas of our time, one that has the potential of forever changing the way international business is conducted. While the environmental impact of the consumption of fossil fuels has been increasingly documented in recent years, Crude focuses on the human cost of our addiction to oil and the increasingly difficult task of holding a major corporation accountable for its past deeds.

2009 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary Competition: January 15 � 24, 2009 European Film Market: February 5 � 15, 2009 Big Sky Documentary Festival: February 13 � 22, 2009 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, University of Oregon: February 26, 2009 True/False Film Festival: February 26 � March 1, 2009 One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival Prague: March 11 � 19, 2009 Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Greece: March 13 � 22, 2009 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival London: March 18 � 27, 2009 Rome Independent Film Festival: March 19 � 27, 2009 Cleveland International Film Festival: March 19 � 29, 2009 Guadalajara Film Festival, Mexico: March 22 � 30, 2009 Sarasota Film Festival: March 27 � April 5, 2009 Special screening for members of U.S. Congress, hosted by Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA): March 31 Special screening hosted by Dan & Rhoda Glickman and the Motion Picture Association of America: March 31 AFI Dallas International Film Festival: March 26 � April 5, 2009 Yale Environmental Film Festival: April 16 � 19, 2009 Nashville Film Festival: April 16 � 23, 2009 Cine Las America, Austin TX: April 22 � 30, 2009 Independent Film Festival of Boston: April 22 � 28, 2009 San Francisco International Film Festival: April 23 � May 7, 2009 Newport Beach Film Festival: April 23 � 30, 2009 Dok.Fest Munich: May 7 � 10, 2009 Santa Cruz Film Festival: May 14, 2009 EDOC Film Festival, Ecuador: May 7 � 24, 2009 Jacksonville Film Festival: May 16, 2009 Little Rock Film Festival: May 15 � 16, 2009 EcoCinema Israeli Environmental Film Festival: May 21, 2009 Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival, New Zealand: May 22 � 30, 2009 Sydney Film Festival: June 4 � 6, 2009 Lake Placid Film Forum: June 11 � 13, 2009 Human Rights Watch International New York: June 11 � 25, 2009 Silverdocs Documentary Film Festival: June 16, 2009 Flyover Film Festival, Louisville Kentucky: June 12 � 14, 2009 New York International Latino Film Festival: August 1, 2009 Traverse City Film Festival: July 29 & August 2, 2009 Milano Film Festival: September 11 � 20, 2009 Tri Continental Film Festival, South Africa: September 11 � October 12, 2009 Reykjavik International Film Festival: September 17-27, 2009 Take One Action Film Festival, Scotland: September 17 � 26, 2009 Festival do Rio, Rio de Janeiro: September 28 � October 4, 2009 Docupolis 09, Barcelona: September 29 � October 4, 2009 Atlantis Nature and Environmental Film Festival, Wiesbaden: October 9 � 17, 2009 12th United Nations Association Film Festival, Palo Alto: October 17 � 25, 2009 Verzio International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Budapest: November 3 � 8, 2009 27th Environmental International Film Festival, Paris: November 18 � 24, 2009 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam: November 19 � 29, 2009

Nominee: Best Feature Documentary � Imagen Awards Winner: Best International Documentary � One World Media Awards Winner: Grand Jury Prize � Independent Film Festival of Boston Winner: Grand Jury Prize � Yale Environmental Film Festival Winner: World Wildlife Fund Documentary Award � Thessaloniki Documentary Festival Winner: Current Energy Filmmaker Award � AFI Dallas International Film Festival Winner: Best Editing � Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Winner: Human Spirit Award � Nashville Film Festival Winner: EarthVision Environmental Film Award � Santa Cruz Film Festival Winner: Reel Earth Award, International Features � Reel Earth Film Festival New Zealand Winner: Best Documentary Film � Mexico Film Festival Nominee: Best Documentary Feature Film � Milan International Film Festival Nominee: Reel Current Award, presented by Al Gore � Nashville Film Festival Nominee: Golden Gate Award � San Francisco International Film Festival Nominee: WITNESS Award � Silverdocs Documentary Film Festival