Banana Land: Blood, Bullets & Poison

Secrets toxiques

January 2023 •French

Increase of chronic diseases, loss of biodiversity, extinction of bees... for a few years, the consequences of pesticides mass use are compelling public opinion. How to explain their effects on human health and biodiversity, whereas EU regulations forbid the spread of every harmful product ?

Face to Face: The Schappell Twins

January 1999 •English

Two bodies and one mind, this is the extraordinary story of one pair of conjoined twins in today's world.

Building the American Dream

March 2019 •English

In Texas, construction workers face the deadliest conditions in the country. This documentary follows three immigrant families who are rising up to seek justice and equality in an industry rife with exploitation.

Bananaland: Blood, Bullets & Poison

August 2016 •English

For consumers, bananas are a delicious and nutritious start to the day, a healthy snack and a fixture in our fruit bowls. For millions of residents in the banana lands, the production of bananas means social upheaval, violence and pesticide poisoning. Banana Land explores the origins of these disparate realities, and opens the conversation on how workers, producers and consumers can address this disconnect.

Cadillac Desert: Water and the Transformation of Nature

June 1997 •English

Documentary on water usage, money, politics, the transformation of nature, and the growth of the American west, shown on PBS as a four-part miniseries.

Broken Rainbow

May 1985 •English

Documentary chronicling the government relocation of 10,000 Navajo Indians in Arizona.

The Real Dirt on Farmer John

January 2006 •English

An outcast in his community, Farmer John bravely stands amidst a failing economy, vicious rumors, and violence. By melding the traditions of family farming with the power of art and free expression, this powerful story of transformation and renewal heralds a resurrection of farming in America. Through highly personal interviews and 50 years of beautifully textured footage, filmmaker Taggart Siegel shares Farmer John’s haunting and humorous odyssey, capturing what it means to be wildly different in a rural community.

A Healthy Baby Girl

June 1997 •English

Filmmaker Judith Helfand turns the camera on herself to document her battle with cancer caused by DES, a drug prescribed to her mother during pregnancy. Refusing to confine the tears, rage, laughter and hope to dinner table conversations, Helfand invites us to witness her personal journey from radical hysterectomy patient to vocal opponent of toxic exposure. From her suburban home to the halls of Congress, the intensely private becomes widely public, and an American family is transformed and strengthened.

Why the Kremlin Hates Bananas

March 1953 •English

A propaganda short commissioned by the United Fruit Company on the benefits they bring to Central America, such as creating jobs and delivering educational opportunities, which is something the Soviet Union could never understand.

Bananas!*

October 2009 •English

Juan “Accidentes” Dominguez is on his biggest case ever. On behalf of twelve Nicaraguan banana workers he is tackling Dole Food in a ground-breaking legal battle for their use of a banned pesticide that was known by the company to cause sterility. Can he beat the giant, or will the corporation get away with it?

Manufacturing Ignorance

November 2020 •French

Tobacco, climate change, pesticides,... Never has scientific knowledge seemed so vast, detailed and shared. And yet it appears to be increasingly challenged. It is no longer surprising to see private corporations put strategies in place to confuse the public debate and paralyze political decision-making. Overwhelmed by excess of information, how can we, as citizens, sort out fact from fiction? One by one, this film dismantles the workings of this clever manoeuvre that aims to turn science against itself. Thanks to declassified archives, graphic animations and testimonies from experts, lobbyists and politicians, this investigation plunges us into the science of doubt. Along with a team of experts (philosophers, economists, cognitive scientists, political men, or even agnotologists), we explore concrete examples of doubt making and try to understand the whole process and the issues behind it.

Nuclear Savage: The Islands of Secret Project 4.1

November 2011 •English

A shocking political exposé, and an intimate ethnographic portrait of Pacific Islanders struggling for survival, dignity, and justice after decades of top-secret human radiation experiments conducted on them by the U.S. government.

Children Of The Vine

Invalid date •English

A global nightmare is unfolding as farmers and scientists stand at a crossroads questioning the impacts of pesticides and herbicides on human health. At the center of this controversy is glyphosate, the primary active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, the most widely used herbicide in the world. Glyphosate was recently identified as a possible cancer causing agent and is now found in breast milk, baby food, wine and 80% of food grown in the United States. Why is glyphosate filtering into so many facets of our daily lives? And why are countries banning glyphosate while the United States uses more of it than any other country in the world? Children Of The Vine will peel back the curtain on the flawed regulatory practices that are causing more harm than good to public health while also revealing the scary science behind toxic farming practices. In the end, this solution driven documentary will highlight more sustainable large scale farming practices capable of feeding the world.

Les fils de la terre

February 2012 •French

The Mystery of the Disappearing Bees

July 2010 •English

The future of our food resources depends on one small insect - the western honey bee, or Apis mellifera. Indeed, it is the most important agricultural pollinator on our planet, given that one third of our food supply depends directly on pollination from bees. This documentary tells the story of a worldwide ecological disaster that has been waiting to happen for several generations.

The Dark Side of Chocolate

March 2010 •English

A team of journalists investigate how human trafficking and child labor in the Ivory Coast fuels the worldwide chocolate industry. The crew interview both proponents and opponents of these alleged practices, and use hidden camera techniques to delve into the gritty world of cocoa plantations.

The Harvest (La Cosecha)

July 2011 •English

The story of the children who work 12-14 hour days in the fields without the protection of child labor laws. These children are not toiling in the fields in some far away land. They are working in America.

Vanishing of the Bees

October 2009 •English

This documentary takes a piercing investigative look at the economic, political and ecological implications of the worldwide disappearance of the honeybee. The film examines our current agricultural landscape and celebrates the ancient and sacred connection between man and the honeybee. The story highlights the positive changes that have resulted due to the tragic phenomenon known as "Colony Collapse Disorder." To empower the audience, the documentary provides viewers with tangible solutions they can apply to their everyday lives. Vanishing of the Bees unfolds as a dramatic tale of science and mystery, illuminating this extraordinary crisis and its greater meaning about the relationship between humankind and Mother Earth. The bees have a message - but will we listen?

Grenada: Confronting the Past

May 2022 •English

In the eighteenth century, the family of BBC World News anchor and correspondent, Laura Trevelyan, were absentee slave owners on the island of Grenada, profiting for years from the sale of sugar harvested from five different sugar cane plantations. When slavery was abolished in 1834, the UK government paid compensation to slave owners, but the enslaved received nothing. In the wake of the racial reckoning in America following the death of George Floyd, Grenada's national commission on reparations for slavery has begun to meet and debate what reparations means. In this film, Laura she travels to Grenada to try and learn more about the legacy of slavery on Grenada and her family's involvement in the slave trade.

Doomsday for Pests

January 1946 •English

Facing mounting insect deaths, concerned bugs view a documentary film about Sherwin-Williams's lethal new PESTROY pesticide coating.