Yes, black gold that is, but this ain't Texas and we are not talking tea. We are talking about Tadesse Meskela’s battle of the bean in Black Gold, a documentary shadowing Meskela as he fights for fair coffee prices and distribution on behalf of his 74,000 Ethiopian farmers. We've just learned that the film opened at the Hong Kong International Film Festival and is scheduled to open in the UK and Ireland in June. Meskela, general manager of Oromia Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union, spent the last several years trekking about the globe courting multinationals, challenging the goliath policies of the World Trade Organization and other government ministers to consider Ethiopian farmers as equals in trade as opposed to an inexpensive, abundant workforce.
Although the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia has endured two famines in the past 30 years while boasting the highest grade of coffee bean. Poignantly absurd, but a common story amongst many countries that boast highly desirable and profitable resources such as diamonds, rubber, cacao, and oil. Directors Nick and Mark Francis seek to show Westerners how consumption of such products affects all parties involved, as well as use the film to portray Ethiopia, and the continent in its entirety, in a more dimensional manner.
“Trade is more important to us [farmers] than aid,” says Meskela and we hope that efforts and advocacy surrounding this film will merit such reciprocity. Be sure to check for Black Gold screenings and discussions in the U.S. and elsewhere.
