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What is a big corporation capable of in order to protect its brand? BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS!* follows filmmaker Fredrik Gertten and his partners as they refuse to be bullied and silenced by the fruit giant, Dole Food Company.
Director: Fredrik Gertten
Share this film. Give others the chance to be inspired by Gertten’s resilience and commitment to freedom of speech.
Watch and share Gertten’s first film BANANAS!* about the Nicaraguan banana workers.
Consider donating to the Bananas! campaign. Help the film reach a global audience by sharing the trailer and organizing screenings.
Support and purchase fair trade items whenever possible. Visit WFTO to learn why this is important.
Bananas are the 4th most important food staple in the world. Only about 20% of the prices paid by consumers reach exporting country. Salaries of workers and income of farmers reflect only a small fraction of total revenue.
Visit Fair Trade International to learn how the new Fair Trade standard seeks improvement in workers’ rights.
“A David-and Goliath story that delves into corporate scare tactics, legal effrontery, brand protection, media manipulation, online propagandizing and craven behavior, BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS!* relates the story of Fredrik Gertten and Dole’s persecution of his 2009 film BANANAS!*
Read the full article on Variety Magazine.
Read it here.
“There’s a tsunami of information out in the world. But information alone is not enough to change the world. A good story told in a condensed way with characters that are good on camera can reach so much further. The combination of images, sound and music is still very strong.”
Read the full interview.
A MULTITUDE OF DROPS
Those who have stood up against oppression and the unrestrained powers of our time.
“Days after launching a website for the film and announcing the premiere, director Fredrik Gertten received a thick package from lawyers representing Dole. It contained a cease-and-desist order to stop exhibiting the film, or the filmmakers would be sued.”
Read more on The Globe and Mail.
“Putting an end to years-long litigation, a judge Thursday threw out a multimillion-dollar jury verdict awarded in 2007 to six Nicaraguan men claiming they were sterilized by a pesticide while working on American-run banana farms.”
The LA Times has the full story.
3,153 Nicaraguan, 700 Costa Rican, and 1000 Honduran banana workers to be compensated by Dole for exposure to dibromochloropropane (DBCP), or Nemagon, used on plantations in the 1970s and 80s.
Read more here.
“In a better world crimes against workers should be treated the same way as human rights and war crimes.”
Read more on Cinema Politica.
"The relentlessness of corporate might is disturbing but no surprise; "Big Boys" is, however, an eye-opening look at the way the U.S. media fell lockstep behind Dole's claims."
The Los Angeles Times
"A provocative look at what can happen when corporate power takes aim at independent film."
The New York Times
