Sweet Crude trailer 2009
Sweet Crude is a documentary film about the Niger Delta of Nigeria — the humanitarian and environmental devastation there in the wake of 50 years of unregulated oil extraction, the history of non-violent protest by Niger Deltans demanding control of their own resources and the emergence of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

Sweet Crude Documentary Synopsis

In the summer of 2008, militants from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) declared an “oil war” in Nigeria. This was one of the biggest spikes yet on a radar screen dotted with conflict and tragedy. The documentary film Sweet Crude is the story of the Niger Delta; of the villagers of Oporoza, headquarters of the insurgency; and of members of the armed resistance who, in the three years since the filmmakers met them as college students, became the young men of MEND.

The Niger Delta is a powder keg. Escalating unrest and kidnappings by militants have shut down as much as 40% of oil production in the region. The Nigerian government continues to make and break a long string of promises to resolve the crisis. The international community is standing by while impending war looms.

Meanwhile, the people of the Delta are suffering as they have for half a century. Billions of dollars of crude oil are pumped out from beneath their feet, while they live in desperate poverty – without means of livelihood in a decimated environment. Oil spills, dredging and acid rain from gas flaring have destroyed habitats, killed the fish population, fouled the soil and poisoned the villagers. Their villages lack potable water, sanitation, infrastructure, healthcare and schools. Job prospects are bleak and people die young.

There is a long legacy of non-violent protest in the Delta. But it has consistently been met by the Nigerian government with violence – not only against individuals who spoke out, but against entire communities. By late 2005, the people had had enough. A new armed resistance, MEND, emerged. They began kidnapping oil workers to bring international attention to the crisis and in the years since, the region has become increasingly unstable. Yet they have repeatedly stated their desire to negotiate. In this moment, there is an opportunity to tip the scales toward peace.

Sweet Crude is about the humanitarian, environmental and economic devastation in the wake of 50 years of oil extraction – and the opportunity for the international community to do something. The film also raises broader issues of oil politics, mass media agendas and the role of independent journalists in getting the truth out.

POSTSCRIPT
The Sweet Crude film crew made four trips to the Niger Delta. In April 2008, while traveling by boat on their way to
a shoot, they and their Nigerian colleague were detained by the Nigerian military. They were imprisoned for a week
and finally released after an international outcry, including a letter to the Nigerian president signed by 14 U.S.
lawmakers. The footage from that last trip remains in the hands of the Nigerian government.

CRUDE – Official Trailer

Three years in the making, this cinéma-vérité feature from acclaimed filmmaker Joe Berlinger is the epic story of one of the largest and most controversial legal cases on the planet. An inside look at the infamous $27 billion 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 as it examines a complicated situation from all angles while bringing an important story of environmental peril and human suffering into focus.

A Combined Gallery of images from Sweet Crude and Crude

Check NetFlix for availability.

Those Who Dance
about Shell Oil Company’s crimes in Ireland and Nigeria, and the people who fight back. Shot & edited by Mayyasa Al-Malazi with original music by Camilla Cancantata Additional Footage by Paul Brewster & William Dick of Wavebob, Glenn Ellis, Michael Flanagan & Friends of the Earth London Microscopic Images, Shelley Burgoyne Nancy Elan, violin Ippy Femonic. electric bass Tim Hand, technical assistance Voice Over, Isobel McKenna
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6183325813995181497#

Links to Related Oil/Energy Documentaries and Resources:
Sweet Crude Documentary Website
Crude Documentary website
Crude Impact Documentary
The end of Surburbia
A Crude awakening – The Oil Crash
Who Killed the Electric Car
Platform London

—————

—————

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja

Some of Niger Delta’s prominent groups and ethnic leaders have called for urgent talks with the government to end the military’s ongoing operations in the region. Rights groups say the army’s indiscriminate bombing of villages in the oil-producing Niger Delta has created a humanitarian crisis.

The Nigerian military says troops will continue their search of the creeks of the Niger Delta to flush out militants whose criminal activities have hurt the country’s oil production.

An army spokesman in the delta, Colonel Rabe Abubakar, says the military will continue securing the region and dismissed any talk of a so-called cease-fire.

“I am not aware of any cease-fire,” he said. “We are a military people. We are not at war. It is only when you are at war that you begin to ask for cease-fire. You are just conducting an operation which will assist you in recovery or rescuing some of the foreign nationals who were taken hostage by the militants. The operation is only targeting the militants, not any other person – the militants and their hideouts.”

The continuing military offensive has resulted in an angry backlash from groups and community leaders in the Niger Delta. Aid groups have not been allowed humanitarian access to the creeks to help those in need. Some reports suggest hundreds of civilians may have been killed in the two-week-old fighting.

The United Niger Delta Energy Development and Security Strategy this week hosted a meeting of all Niger Delta leaders on the current crisis. The secretary-general of the group, Tony Uranta, told VOA the fighting between the army and militants in the delta is pushing the country closer to a catastrophe. He says Niger Delta leaders resolved the only way out is for the government to accept their request for urgent talks.

“If the government grants us audience we hope within the next 72 hours, we believe we can end this. If the government refuses us audience, we may be faced with a humanitarian crisis, and we cannot say it shall not develop into a civil war. Right now, every Niger Deltan is very wary of government and government security forces,” he said.

Clashes between militants and government forces are the heaviest in two years and began after the hijacking of two oil vessels and attacks on troops in southern Delta state.

The world’s eighth-largest oil exporter is already suffering huge losses because of violence in the delta. The government announced Tuesday that national revenue dropped by 30 percent below budget projections in the first quarter due to a lower level of oil production than forecast.

A Nigerian navy patrol has intercepted an attempted attack on an offshore oil facility in the Niger Delta. It is the latest in an ongoing battle which is said to have nearly halved the country’s vital oil production. On Monday, rebel fighters successfully put a major oil storage facility out of action. But in addition to the economic cost, Amnesty International says hundreds of civilians are being killed in the violence. Al Jazeera’s Tarek Bazley reports.

At the petrol station with its attractive, beckoning red and yellow icon, a diverse group gathers to witness.
We recite the narrative of the Niger Delta.
Like supplicants before a mystical altar, we chant one by one—giving evidence of what we have learned.
Like a mantra, like a prayer committed to memory and spoken for generations.
We chant lest we allow ourselves to forget.

In 1956 oil was discovered in the Niger Delta,
an area rich with oil and natural gas,
so rich that Nigeria is now the fifth largest supplier of oil to the
United States.

In 1995, the Ogoni 9, including writer/activist Ken Saro-Wiwa,
were hung for their protest,
hung at dawn by men in red robes,
hung for challenging the corruption of governments and oil companies.

Shell, Chevron, and British Petroleum…
make billions from the area,
billions… while polluting the waters,
billions… while ravaging the land.

The fishermen have nothing,
the farmers have nothing,
the people have nothing…
but sickness and poverty.

Thanks to Linda Kunik and Jon Beau Aeon for edits.

Edward Said describes Orientalism as “the manufacture of the other” mainly done for purposes of domination. He locates Orientalism within the history of military and ideological imperialism . It is an attempt to acquire information in a way that is neither innocent nor objective, but driven by special interests (such as the control of resources like oil.)

The wanton, irresponsible actions of oil companies, governments and media regarding the Niger Delta, are classic examples of domination for purposes of exploitation. Although the communities of the Niger Delta are not in “the Orient,” Said’s theories still apply.

Wherever people are fetishisized and considered less than human, marginalization, rape and theft are easily carried out.

Planet in Peril 6:16
Lisa Ling travels to the Niger Delta, where the thirst for oil has created a deadly situation.