News
Big Boys Gone Bananas!* is the second film in this fall's Green Film Series. The true story about a Swedish filmmaker and a banana corporation, dirty tricks, lawsuits, manipulation and the price of free speech. The date of the showing has been changed to Tuesday, October 23 at 7:30 pm at the Gibsons Heritage Playhouse to accomodate DEFEND OUR COAST initiative in Victoria. [View the trailer]
What is a big corporation capable of in order to protect its brand?
Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Gertten's 2009 film Bananas! recounts the story of a lawsuit on behalf of twelve Nicaraguan banana workers versus the Dole Food Company in a ground-breaking legal battle for their use of a banned pesticide that was known to cause sterility. The film was selected to appear at the Los Angeles Film Festival.
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.
Gertten captures the entire process in Big Boys Gone Bananas!* - from Dole attacking the producers with a defamation lawsuit, bullying scare tactics, 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".
A discussion about citizen journalism and breaking corporate control of media will follow the film led by Beverly Saunders, editor of Sustainable Coast Magazine.
The date of the showing has been changed to Tuesday, October 23 at 7:30 pm at the Gibsons Heritage Playhouse to accomodate DEFEND OUR COAST initiative in Victoria.
The Gibsons Green Team and Sustainable Coast Magazine in collaboration with the Sunshine Coast Film Society are presenting the Green Film Series. The Green Film Series is dedicated to using film as a tool for community engagement on environmental and sustainability issues. The screening events are meant to foster the role of film as a catalyst for dialogue, networking and action.
Tickets are $10 or $7 for SC Film Society members. SCFS annual memberships ($15) are available at the door or on the SCFS website at scfs.ca. Ticket reservations are available online at www.greenfilms.ca. Screening time is 7:30pm, with the doors open at 7pm. The Gibsons Heritage Playhouse is located at 662 North Road in Gibsons, BC.