Bananas!*
angela
I’ve been following the controversy around Bananas!*, a film that was originally programmed in competition at The Los Angeles Film Festival but was pulled following accusations that a main character in the film, attorney Juan Domingues, fabricated stories in order to move forward a lawsuit with Dole. (The film was later shown as a “case study”.) From various accounts on blogs, film sites, etc the documentary appears to indicate that Dole knowingly and recklessly exposed Nicaraguan plantation workers to DBCP, a pesticide, after Dow Chemical withdrew it from the market in the late 1970s and the pesticide was banned in America, causing mass infertility amongst banana campesinos. The film chronicles the aforementioned lawsuit.
I have not seen the film so it is hard to comment on the film’s content. But I am truly fascinated by the larger questions it elicits. Alex Rivera wrote a passionate defense of the film and discussed documentarians’ long legacy of questioning the justice system:
It doesn’t matter if it’s by questioning a past court decision, following an unfolding court case, or in the case of “Bananas!*,” a case that takes a turn after the film is completed, documentarians play the most crucial role when they question the official story. This belief is to me, part of the fabric of our independent film community. It’s been fascinating and frustrating to see that belief open for discussion at this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival.
In a surprising move, Dole is suing the filmmakers for slander and libel. In light of the judge’s finding of fraud by Dominguez, the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Dole attorneys contend in the complaint that “Bananas!” unfairly demonizes Dole and is riddled with factual inaccuracies. Though the filmmakers did add additional text cards with updates on the case, that does not seem sufficient to Dole. (Rumor has it that Dole has not even watched the film.)
My bias is always going to be with the “little guy”, in this case the filmmakers, but I am going to continue to follow the details in this story to get a fuller picture. Because this case could have a big effect on just how far documentary filmmakers can take their freedom of speech rights, I encourage you to as well.
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| Posted on July 13, 2009
Comments
This is very important. Gland you are following it.
Posted on 2009 07 19 by Gordon Quinn
Dole Food Company, Inc. has announced that it is dismissing its defamation lawsuit against filmmakers Fredrik Gertten, Margarete Jangard and WG Film AB in the Los Angeles Superior Court, relating to the film “Bananas!*.”
http://www.indiewire.com/article/dole_withdraws_bananas_suit/pem
Posted on 2009 10 15 by Kasmore