The other short film we watched at this year's Festival was Fair Trade - The Story, which provides a brief look at how Fair Trade impacts people along the supply line.
Rivers of Justice Film Festival
One of the featurettes we watched at this year's Festival was "The danger of a single story," a July 2009 TEDTalk given by Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie.
Adichie certainly packs a lot into a short speech, but her warnings about the danger of a single story seem particularly important to conversations about justice. When we allow a single story to define another person or culture, we are limiting what we are able to see and expect. As a result, people, countries and entire continents get written into a corner by the stories told about them by the powerful.
When watched in succession with Black Gold, it's interesting to see how a single story of trade relationships has defined developing nations. Instead of coffee farmers being seen as partners in a trading relationship, they are seen as merely another cost factor to be driven down to the lowest price. And then they are seen as obstinate when they try to represent their interests at global trade meetings.
Here's the trailer for Black Gold the feature length film we'll be highlighting at the 2010 Rivers of Justice Film Festival:
For more information on the film, check out the Black Gold web site where you can find all kinds of additional resources about coffee and fair trade.