{"id":7685,"date":"2024-09-20T13:58:59","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T13:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?p=7685"},"modified":"2026-03-05T17:55:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T17:55:03","slug":"black-gold-wake-up-smell-the-coffee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/?p=7685","title":{"rendered":"Black Gold: Wake Up &amp; Smell The Coffee"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Black Gold -  Trailer\" width=\"980\" height=\"735\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uiWDjObe_fs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-unset-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/ftt-ladybird-geoblogs.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-135\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\"><strong>followthethings.com<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?page_id=303\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"303\">Grocery<\/a><br><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons has-custom-font-size is-horizontal is-content-justification-left is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-bc275726 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\" style=\"font-size:10px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--2\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-cyan-bluish-gray-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=2024\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">2006<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--3\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-black-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=starbucks\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">STARBUCKS<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--4\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-vivid-red-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=coffee\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">COFFEE<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--5\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-black-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=origin-ethiopia\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">GROWN IN ETHIOPIA<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--6\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-black-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=destination-uk\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">SOLD IN THE UK<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--7\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-black-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=destination-uk\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">SOLD IN THE USA<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--8\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-vivid-purple-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=documentary-film\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">DOCUMENTARY FILM<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--9\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=pop-the-bubble\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">POP THE BUBBLE<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--10\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=cross-cultures\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">CROSS CULTURES<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--11\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=show-capitalist-evils\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">SHOW CAPITALIST EVILS<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--12\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=improve-pay-conditions\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">IMPROVE PAY &amp; CONDITIONS<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--13\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-vivid-red-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=target-the-right-brand\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">TARGET THE RIGHT BRAND<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--14\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-vivid-red-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=start-somewhere-different\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">START SOMEWHERE DIFFERENT<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--15\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-vivid-red-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=flip-the-script\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">FLIP THE SCRIPT<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--16\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-vivid-red-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=find-a-character\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">FIND A CHARACTER<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--17\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-vivid-red-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=bring-people-together\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--18\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-vivid-red-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=juxtapose-extremes\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">JUXTAPOSE EXTREMES<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--19\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-vivid-red-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=encourage-empathy\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">ENCOURAGE EMPATHY<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size is-style-outline is-style-outline--20\" style=\"font-size:12px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-vivid-red-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?tag=add-to-the-mix\" style=\"border-radius:5px\">ADD TO THE MIX<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f6f0ec\">&#8220;<strong>Black Gold: Wake Up &amp; Smell The Coffee<\/strong>&#8220;<br>A documentary film directed by Marc &amp; Nick Francis, starring Tadesse Meskela, for Speak-It Films &amp; Fulcrum Productions.<br>Trailer embeded above. Rent or buy on Vimeo <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/ondemand\/blackgold\">here<\/a>. Search streaming availability <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justwatch.com\/us\/movie\/black-gold\">here<\/a>. <br><br>At a time when coffee shops are appearing on every street corner in the Western world and the home of the world&#8217;s finest coffee beans is mired in poverty, British filmmakers Marc and Nick Francis don&#8217;t want to make yet another documentary about Ethiopia needing Western aid. They want to show Tadesse Maskela, a representative of an Ethiopian coffee co-operative, as he travels the world trying to get a better price for his farmers&#8217; coffee. Tadesse is irritated that importers such as Starbucks are making massive profits from this coffee while the people who grow it in &#8216;the home of coffee&#8217; don&#8217;t even have schools, clean water or healthcare. This is a fascinating \u2018follow the people\u2019 documentary because it chooses to follow a producer as they try to find where the commodity the grow and sell ends up, and who profits from them. It\u2019s not a guilty consumer trying to find who made their stuff. It stars an African man on a quest in the Global North, looking for his coffee on the shelves of a British supermarket, asking questions not only about where the coffee goes, but where &#8211; and by whom &#8211; the profits from its trade are generated and enjoyed. How will people explain to him the extraordinary inequalities in wealth and poverty along the coffee supply chain? From his perspective, this doesn\u2019t make sense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Page reference: Blayne Tesfaye &amp; Julia Potter (2012) <em>Black Gold: Wake Up &amp; Smell The Coffee<\/em>. followthethings.com\/blackgold.shtml (last accessed &lt;insert date here&gt;)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Estimated reading time: 26 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>32 comments<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Descriptions<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-dark-grayscale\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>As westerners revel in designer lattes and cappuccinos, impoverished Ethiopian coffee growers suffer the bitter taste of injustice. In this eye-opening expose of the multi-billion dollar industry, Black Gold traces one man\u2019s fight for a fair price (Source: Anon nda&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.blackgoldmovie.com\/dvd.php\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-red\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>The film follows&nbsp;Tadesse&nbsp;Meskela, an Ethiopian man on a mission to save his 74,000 struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. As his farmers strive to harvest some of the highest quality coffee beans on the international market,&nbsp;Tadesse&nbsp;travels the world in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price.&nbsp;Against the backdrop of&nbsp;Tadesse\u2019s&nbsp;journey to London and Seattle, the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world\u2019s coffee trade becomes apparent.&nbsp;New York commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges, and the double dealings of trade ministers at the World Trade Organisation reveal the many challenges&nbsp;Tadesse&nbsp;faces in his quest for a long term solution for his farmers (Source: Anon 2010).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-orange\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Scenes in the film switch between the disadvantaged coffee farming communities to the daily lives of those at the luxury to consume it, which often exemplifies the absurdity found in those gushing about the great wealth of a market built off the backs of farmers who continue to live in poverty (Source: Reed 2008).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-dark-grayscale\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>During the film\u2019s most painful sequence, his [Tadesse\u2019s] efforts and Ethiopia\u2019s persistent, crushing famine are juxtaposed with the vapidly cheerful corp-speak of two Starbucks baristas (Source: Hornaday 2006).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details has-small-font-size is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>+3 comments<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-orange\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Yes, the baristas are excessively perky as they purvey coffee and the Starbucks experience; yet they are also model employees, supportive of each other, efficient, and proud of their company. At the time of the filming, the young women were entertaining a tour from the Specialty Coffee Association, to which the filmmakers had attached themselves to avoid asking Starbucks or its employees for permission to film. How could these young women know that they would be featured as unwitting symbols of the harm that transnational coffee giants inflict on poor Ethiopian farmers (Source: Fellner 2008&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.fpif.org\/fpiftxt\/5535\">link<\/a>)?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-purple-yellow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>The spokesman, Tadesse Meskela, who is the subject of Black Gold, together with the film\u2019s English makers, brothers Nick and Marc Francis, are a serious irritant to some of the world\u2019s coffee giants \u2013 in particular Seattle-based Starbucks, whose annual turnover of $7.8bn (\u00a34bn) is not much lower than Ethiopia\u2019s entire gross domestic product \u2026 \u2018Our people are barefoot, have no school, no clean water or health centre. They are living hand to mouth. We need $4 a pound minimum, that\u2019s only fair \u2026 Starbucks may help bring clear water for one community but this does not solve the problem. In 2005, Starbucks\u2019 aid to the third world was $1.5m. We don\u2019t want this kind of support, we just want a better price. They make huge profits; giving us just one payment of money does not help,\u2019 said Mr. Meskela (Source: Seager 2007&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/business\/2007\/jan\/29\/development.filmnews\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-grayscale\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>By way of the farmers in the cooperative and Tadesse\u2019s efforts on their behalf, the film exposes the web of trade regulations that keep farmers in developing countries poor, even while transnational corporations in the global north prosper. Women painstakingly sort millions of beans; and viewers observe the hunger and substandard housing that accompany poverty. Juxtaposed with these images are the cosmopolitan caf\u00e9s of Europe and America, the comfort of conspicuous consumption, the places of commerce where deprivation in one part of the globe is turned into the wealth of another (Source: Fellner 2008&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.fpif.org\/fpiftxt\/5535\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:41px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Inspiration \/ Technique \/ Process \/ Methodology<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-orange\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>I first went to Ethiopia in 1997, and when I was there, I was thinking, \u2018I\u2019m in the birthplace of coffee, yet this is one of the poorest countries. How can that be?\u2019 Then in 2003, we learned that Ethiopia was facing another famine, like the one in \u201984 that led to the Live Aid concert. But unlike \u201984, even the richest coffee-growing areas were caught up in the crisis. At the same time, we were seeing more and more coffee shops everywhere, in Britain, in the U.S. There was this mushrooming coffee industry, but the people who grew it were in this absolute humanitarian emergency. We wanted to make the connection between the two, between the coffee-consuming public and the growers\u2026 \u2018We wanted to feature a protagonist from Africa who is out there doing something rather than waiting for charity and goodwill,\u2019 Nick explained. For the filmmakers, Tadesse\u2019s work challenged our western notion that Africa survives solely on aid from the developed world (Source: Fellner 2008&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.fpif.org\/fpiftxt\/5535\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-grayscale\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p><em>How did you meet Tadesse Meskela? Why did you choose to feature his cooperative union in the film?<\/em>&nbsp;In our research we read about Tadesse and on our first trip to Addis Ababa in 2003 we interviewed him at length about the coffee industry. Towards the end of the interview he mentioned he was going to Europe, the U.S. and Japan to meet buyers to sell his farmers coffee directly. Immediately we realized we had to follow his journey, and so for the next two years we filmed with him in Seattle, London and back in Ethiopia.&nbsp;By focusing on Tadesse and his co-operative union we could create the direct link between consumers and producers. The Oromia Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union is also the largest in Ethiopia\u2014it represents over 75,000 farmers.&nbsp;<em>What did you want to achieve with BLACK GOLD?<\/em> With any film you want to achieve many things. Here are a few of them:&nbsp;We wanted BLACK GOLD to motivate us, as Western consumers, to question some of our basic assumptions about our consumer lifestyle and its interaction with the rest of the world.&nbsp;We wanted to urgently remind audiences that through just one cup of coffee, we are inextricably connected to the livelihoods of millions of people around the world who are struggling to survive, while corporations are earning record profits.&nbsp;We also wanted the film to challenge the stereotypical portrayal of Africa, often characterized in the Western media by an overload of de-contextualized images depicting poverty and helplessness.&nbsp;Crucially we wanted the audience to see that the current international trading system is enslaving millions of people and is urgently in need of radical reform. We wanted people to wake up and smell the coffee\u2026&nbsp;<em>What were some of the challenges you faced in making BLACK GOLD?<\/em> One of our main challenges was funding the film. Initially we had to put our own resources into starting the project, because we had to capture what was happening in the coffee areas of southern Ethiopia. Also the world trade talks were taking place in Mexico, and we couldn\u2019t wait for funding applications or broadcasters to give us the green light.&nbsp;<em>What was it like filming in so many locations globally?<\/em> Exhausting! There were so many variables all the time and everything was very unpredictable. Having said that, it helped us feel the story we were trying to tell. One minute we were in the New York Commodity Exchange where billions of dollars are traded, and the next in Ethiopian coffee fields where farmers struggling to survive. That juxtaposition underlines the entire film (Source: Francis &amp; Francis nda&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blackgold\/qa.html\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-purple-yellow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>We passionately believe that the language of film is a uniquely powerful medium to communicate to audiences everywhere about an engaging and timely issue that has an impact on the world in which we live \u2026 From the beginning we wanted to make a film which, while having a political purpose, was not overly polemic; a film which was observational \u2013 giving the viewer the opportunity to draw their own conclusions about what they are experiencing.&nbsp;In making the film we also wanted to challenge the portrayal of Africa often characterised in the Western media by an overload of de-contextualised images depicting poverty with no link to our own lives (Source: Francis &amp; Francis ndb <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blackgoldmovie.com\/directors.php\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:41px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><strong>Discussion \/ Responses<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-purple-green\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>The Francis brothers are good on showing the situation\u2019s local effects \u2013 famine, ill-equipped schools \u2013 but less so at analyzing the international economic context: the film is frighteningly free of expert voices.&nbsp;More dynamism and knowledge in the telling and fewer cheap shots at young Starbucks workers in Seattle wouldn\u2019t have gone amiss (Source: Calhoun 2007, np).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-midnight\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>The baristas and shopkeepers that the film ridicules through artful editing are the very people who are the farmers\u2019 best hope for teaching the public about the true value of these coffees (Source: Marshall 2006&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/blackgoldmovie.com\/forum\/index.php?action=vthread&amp;forum=1&amp;topic=85\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-dark-grayscale\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>While it may prompt some to think again next time they\u2019re in Starbucks, this astute insight into the coffee business is better at lauding the good guys than taking the multinationals to task for the iniquities of the global economy (Source: Parkinson 2006&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.empireonline.com\/reviews\/ReviewComplete.asp?FID=135039\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-red\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Although some scenes register with strong impact, there also seems to be a lot of padding, and the overall narrative is ultimately too diffused and unfocused for the film to have the sociological impact it so obviously desires (Source: Scheck 2006).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details has-small-font-size is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>+3 comments<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-grayscale\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Compared to a documentary like Darwin\u2019s Nightmare [see our page on this film <a href=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/?p=9423\">here<\/a>], which found disturbing visual analogues for the moral rot of global trade, Black Gold makes most of its points in words, not pictures. (Source: Murray 2006&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.avclub.com\/articles\/black-gold,3766\/\">link<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-purple-yellow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>The movie\u2019s approach reminds me that of the paternalistic and Western-centred [sic] 1970s-style theories according to which only colonialism and international market (i.e. \u2018us\u2019 the Western world) are to blame, and no others\u2019 power and responsibilities are recognised. Likewise, there is no mention in the movie of the roles that the Ethiopian State could play in economic development and, for instance, education (Source: Chiari 2007&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/blackgoldmovie.com\/forum\/index.php?action=vthread&amp;forum=1&amp;topic=279\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-grayscale\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>[I] found it confusing to people outside the coffee field, partial, and intellectually not particularly honest \u2026 In my opinion, the film completely overlooks factors such as historical events (the Mengistu dictatorship which ruined plantations and the coffee free flow), inept procedures such as the bureaucracy surrounding the auctions system which hardly allows enough time for buyers to evaluate the lots), and also the ever present corruption, probably less in Ethiopia than in other parts of Africa, but then why generalize in the end with statements about Africa\u2019s share of world trade (Source: cofyknsult 2006 <a href=\"http:\/\/blackgoldmovie.com\/forum\/index.php?action=vthread&amp;forum=1&amp;topic=65\">link<\/a>)?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:41px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Outcomes \/ Impacts<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-red\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>When Marc and Nick Francis were making&nbsp;Black Gold, they never expected the story \u2013 about the plight of African coffee farmers paid a fraction of the amount a latte or cappuccino costs \u2013 to attract the very multinationals the film criticises. \u2018They want to hear what the audience thinks,\u2019 Nick Francis says. \u2018We had this screening in Seattle, and the head of corporate responsibility of Starbucks came to the screening and participated in a panel and answered questions from the audience. That\u2019s what you call the power of film \u2013 how a film could draw in people.\u2019 \u2026&nbsp;The film has prompted rounds of crisis management sessions at coffee-shop chains such as Starbucks, which issued a statement calling the film inaccurate and incomplete.&nbsp;Since the film\u2019s release, the chain has also actively promoted a new range of \u2018Fair Trade\u2019 coffee in its outlets around the world, including those in Hong Kong.&nbsp;The filmmakers are surprised by the chain\u2019s response to their film. \u2018It\u2019s not a film about Starbucks, it\u2019s a film about coffee farmers struggling to survive in the coffee industry, and their story is set against the backdrop of the coffee-consuming world of the west, of which Starbucks is a part,\u2019 Marc Francis says. \u2018We didn\u2019t tell it so much about them but they\u2019ve taken it very personally.&nbsp;Also, we did spend six months trying to interview not just Starbucks but other big multinational coffee companies to bring their side of the stories to the film. But they\u2019ve given us no response. Now that the film is out there and is beginning to pick up public momentum, the companies are responding more and more to the film \u2013 or trying to show [through] public relations where they position themselves\u2019 (Source: Tsui 2007a).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-purple-green\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>\u2019Black Gold\u2019 portrays the coffee industry as a whole, rather than Starbucks specifically. From our point of view, this film is inaccurate and incomplete, as it does not explain how Starbucks purchases coffee, nor does it provide any reference to potential solutions to the world coffee crisis \u2026 Starbucks takes an integrated approach to coffee purchasing.&nbsp; Our goal is to pay premium prices that provide the coffee farmer with a profit. In our financial year 2006, we paid an average price of $1.42 per pound for our coffee, 40% above the commodity price and comparable with the guaranteed Fairtrade price of $1.26. Our approach\u2026 [has] been recognised for\u2026leadership within the industry (Source: Starbucks 2007).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-midnight\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>We are surprised that Starbucks have gone out to discredit the film again. This is not a film specifically about Starbucks, it\u2019s a film about the winners and losers in the global coffee industry and it shows the daily reality for millions of coffee farmers.&nbsp; We spent six months during the production trying to persuade Starbucks to participate in the film to give them the opportunity to explain how they buy their coffee and how they work in Ethiopia, but they declined our invitation.&nbsp; In a subsequent meeting with five senior Starbucks executives at their Seattle headquarters, we asked them to tell us the exact price they pay farmers for a pound of coffee \u2013 but they refused to disclose this (Source: Francis &amp; Francis 2007 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blackgoldmovie.com\/blog.php\/?p=43\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-red\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>We could not have anticipated the reactions to the Q&amp;A. Among the first people to speak was a Park City resident. He referred to one particular scene in the film where coffee farmers are discussing whether they could afford the construction of a new school. He asked us how much it costs to build a school, and we estimated $10,000. He responded: \u2018I\u2019ll write a cheque for that right now and I challenge anyone else to do the same.\u2019 After the screening he passed over a cheque to the Oromo Coffee Farmers Co-Operative Union, to assist with the construction of a new school. In an interview with a local newspaper shortly afterwards he said, \u2018I know that world aid is a huge part of the problem. When you keep the Third World on a welfare system nobody feels very good about themselves. Education is an important part of the answer\u2019 (Source: Francis &amp; Francis 2006&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/marc-and-nick-francis\/black-gold-fair-trade-sun_b_15036.html\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details has-small-font-size is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>+12 comments<\/summary>\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-grayscale\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>By the close of 2006, coffee prices had risen dramatically. Oromia had grown from thirty-five member cooperatives to almost one hundred. Over eighty thousand farmers were now enrolled in the largest and most successful co-op in Ethiopia. They had sold a remarkable ninety containers of Fair Trade coffee in 2006, yet there was considerably more coffee sold at conventional prices. Tadesse was the star of a documentary called Black Gold, and he was speaking at showings all over the USA and Europe. New elementary schools had been built by the farmers from Fair Trade premiums in Negele Gorbitu and Ilili Darartu, and a new health clinic was under construction in the former. A new water supply system is being designed for Ilili Darartu under the Miriam\u2019s Well program. The farmers have asked me to help design a coffee museum for the birthplace of coffee. meanwhile, the Millenium Development Goals feature prominently in many glossy reports on corporate social responsibility (Source: Cycon 2007, p.32).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-purple-yellow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Since the documentary started showing around the world in June this year, Oxfam \u2013 an international development and relief agency \u2013 has co-sponsored its promotion in more than 75 cities and towns around the world.&nbsp;At the various screenings, hundreds of volunteers have been turning out in support of coffee farmers and have been handing out information and collecting thousands of signatures for the agency\u2019s Big Noise campaign for fair trade (Source: Anon 2007).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-purple-yellow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Now, activists are increasingly discovering the value of film link-ups to better engage the public in an age of sensory overload. \u2026 This is how the development charity Oxfam became an associate partner in this year\u2019s Hong Kong International Film Festival. The group is a key mover behind Black Gold a documentary about Ethiopian coffee growers\u2019 fight for reasonable prices in a global market dominated by commodity traders and multinational coffee chains. Oxfam doesn\u2019t just endorse the film, which will have two screenings at the festival. Each will be followed by seminars where campaigners and guest speakers can elaborate on the issues brought up in the film. The organisation wanted to bring Black Gold to Hong Kong for some time, says Miranda Yip Pui-wah, campaign officer of Oxfam Hong Kong. \u2018It\u2019s only when we contacted its distributors that we discovered the Hong Kong International Film Festival was also in talks with them. We saw an opportunity and struck a deal with people from the festival.\u2019 Through its slot in the festival, a highlight on Hong Kong\u2019s cultural calendar, the group expects to gain far greater visibility than it would at a standalone event. \u2018We hope the screenings will make a lot of noise,\u2019 Yip says. \u2018That\u2019s very important for our campaign.\u2019 The alliance with the festival began three years ago, when Oxfam had a minor role with its annual showcase for humanitarian documentaries. But this is the first time it has teamed up in such a high-profile fashion, says festival executive director Peter Tsi Ka-kei. \u2018They reserved a block of tickets for Black Gold to distribute to patrons and supporters in order to get more people interested in the subject,\u2019 says Tsi. \u2018Through this collaboration, Oxfam can leverage our visibility to bring their message across to more people. It would probably work better for them than, say, paying a huge sum for a slot on TVB at 11pm. And they would be able to reach an audience which would otherwise be less receptive\u2019 (Source: Tsui 2007b).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-orange\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>In these [screening\/discussion events] farmers such as Tadesse \u2026 become the visual proof of the direct and humane market relationships that underlie the fair trade market. Public events celebrating fair trade ubiquitously feature coffee farmers, whose presence on a midwestern stage is a synecdoche for the global relationship (Source: Doane 2010 p.237).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-orange\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Oxfam was intimately involved in the making of Black Gold. It provided help and advice to directors Marc and Nick Francis. And a central character in the documentary, Ethiopian farmers\u2019 representative Tadesse&nbsp;Meskela, worked with Oxfam for years before he was introduced to the filmmakers two years ago.&nbsp;Such close working relationships between filmmakers and NGOs is increasingly common these days. Although documentaries have long been mainstays in film festivals, it\u2019s only during the past few years that activists recognised the power of the medium among a young generation that\u2019s more comfortable with images than text (Source Tsui 2007b).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-grayscale\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Since 2001 Oxfam has worked with coffee farmers in Ethiopia and elsewhere to help secure a fairer deal for small scale producers. By getting a fairer share of the rich coffee profits, millions of coffee farmers would be lifted out of poverty and be able to afford food, schooling and better health care for their families.&nbsp;<em>So please pledge to see the film at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blackgoldmovie.com\">www.blackgoldmovie.com<\/a>.<\/em> If thousands of people pledge to see Black Gold, cinemas around the world will feel the demand for the film and will want to show it, so please ask your friends and family to sign up as well (Source: Anon ndb <a href=\"http:\/\/www.maketradefair.com\/en\/index.php?file=blackgoldmovie_main.html&amp;cat=5&amp;subcat=1&amp;select=1\">link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-purple-yellow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Since the release, Tadesse Meskela\u2019s coffee has increased in price from $1.45\/lb to a minimum of $2.30\/lb, and his Union has tripled the amount of money being paid back to 130,000 farmers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the first few weeks after the premiere, the film helped to generate donations, approx up to $25,000 to the coffee farming community featured in BLACK GOLD. The dilapidated school featured in the film was built.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For the first time, large multinational coffee companies like Nestle, Kraft and Starbucks were brought under the international spotlight by a feature-documentary. Some have had to respond to questions live on television and radio about their pricing policies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Screenings and debates about trade policy and development have taken place in important political institutions including; the World Bank in Washington, EU in Brussels, and the UN in New York, and the House of Commons in London where Tadesse Meskela was invited to 10 Downing Street to deliver his message directly to former Prime Minister Tony Blair.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hundreds of NGOs, organisations, educational establishments, and coffee companies\/corporations have used BLACK GOLD as a tool to build a campaign or educate their employees\/students about the issues of fair and ethical trade. In one particular case, BLACK GOLD was used by the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office to campaign to Starbucks to recognise the intellectual property rights of Ethiopian coffees (Source: Anon ndc&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.blackgoldmovie.com\/impact.php\">link<\/a>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-grayscale\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Rodney North of Equal Exchange, a worker co-op for fair trade food and beverages, credits the supply chain films for raising public awareness on a more far-reaching and effective level than ad campaigns or news articles. \u2018Our voice is drowned out by the corporations,\u2019 he wrote in an e-mail. \u2018So films like \u2018Black Gold\u2019 offer something we could never afford on our own.\u2019 What\u2019s more, he added, the visual nature of cinema punches up the message. Regarding Ethiopian coffee growers, he said, \u2018Even for people who have read or heard about these farmers and their situation, these images really drive home the point in a much more powerful way\u2019 (Source: Hornaday 2006).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-blue-orange\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>The documentary was screened at 7 p.m. last Thursday in the University of Arkansas\u2019s First Security Auditorium in Willard J. Walker Hall, followed by a question and answer session for a panel comprised of&nbsp;Tadesse&nbsp;Meskela, the general manager of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union featured in the film; Paul Rice, founding president and CEO of TransFair USA; Matt Kistler, senior vice president of sustainability at Wal-Mart; and a representative from Cafe Bom Dia, a fair trade and organic coffee company.&nbsp;The panel was also on hand to explain the fair trade certification that Wal-Mart and Meskela\u2019s cooperative group are involved in, which offers coffee farmers a 20 percent premium on their coffee \u2014 a floor price for the coffee they harvest. Their message to the audience was \u201cFair trade is better than aid,\u201d citing incidents of self-sufficiency.&nbsp;The coffee harvested in southern Ethiopia will be sold by Wal-Mart under Sam\u2019s Choice brand, which will include Fair Trade Certified House Blend, Espresso Roast and French Roast; Rainforest Alliance Certified Breakfast Blend whole bean and ground coffee; and Organic Swiss Water Process Decaffeinated, according to a CNNMoney.com report. The venture seeks to simplify the supply chain system by shipping roasted coffee directly from the origin.&nbsp;\u201dThe difference is truly dramatic, in terms of the ability of those families to put food on the table, keep their kids in school, and to provide a better living for their kids and for their families,\u2019 said Rice, who believe the coffee farmers refuse to sit back with arms crossed, waiting for an international agency to come solve their problems for them (Source: Reed 2008).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-purple-green\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>In the latest move by Ethiopian coffee growers to get a higher price for their beans, the Addis Ababa Government has hired a UK design agency to develop brand identities for their speciality coffees. The move comes after Ethiopia succeeded \u2013 in the face of US opposition by Starbucks \u2013 to gain trademarks for the coffees.&nbsp;Brandhouse will create an umbrella brand for Ethiopian Fine Coffees and separate brand identities for the high quality Yirgacheffe, Sidamo and Harrar varieties. This will help protect and ultimately promote one of the nation\u2019s most valuable commodities.&nbsp;While Western consumers are paying sky-high prices for top quality coffee in bars and cafes, the value added to the beans has mainly benefited Western coffee marketers. The Ethiopian Government is fighting to recapture some of that value for the growers.&nbsp;The farmers hope branding will enable them to boost both consumer demand and price premiums for the varietals. \u2018These brands are a promise to our customers, retailers and roasters that we will deliver good quality coffee,\u2019 says&nbsp;Tadesse&nbsp;Meskela of Ethiopia\u2019s Oromia Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union. Meskela is the subject of the film&nbsp;Black Gold,&nbsp;an expose of the multibillion dollar coffee industry which shows his journey round the world as he seeks a fair price for his growers\u2019 beans. \u2026&nbsp;Speaking to Marketing Week from Addis Ababa, he adds: \u2018The brands can also protect the names of those speciality coffees so they are not used by growers in other countries. Through negotiating with speciality coffee buyers, we can obtain a better price for our products.\u2019&nbsp;The new logos will be unveiled next month at a meeting of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. The brand launch comes after Ethiopia last year managed to obtain US trademarks for the three varietals, considered to be among the finest coffees in the world.&nbsp;Coffee chain Starbucks initially opposed the trademark requests. For years it has marketed the Sidamo variety through its cafes, commanding prices of up to $26 (#13) a pound. Yet Ethiopian farmers receive between 75 cents and $1.60 (38p-81p) per pound. Starbucks argued the trademarks would harm those farmers, potentially hiking prices and hitting demand. But after the intervention of Oxfam, which unleashed a ferocious lobbying campaign supporting Ethiopia\u2019s trademark requests, Starbucks relented. The trademarks are owned by Ethiopia and it now has the task of policing use of the coffee varietals in markets around the world and promoting them as brands.&nbsp;The push will serve as a test for other developing nations seeking to turn their high-quality commodities into brands to boost the value the products command in Western markets. As an Oxfam spokesman says: \u2018We would like this to be the first of many. It shouldn\u2019t just be the large companies who reap the benefits from these commodities\u2019 (Source: Anon 2008b).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-small-font-size is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:7.99%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized has-custom-border wp-duotone-midnight\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"868\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/follow-the-things.onyx-sites.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" style=\"border-radius:100px;object-fit:cover;width:43px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04.png 868w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-08-at-17.49.04-768x772.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:92.01%\">\n<p>Tadesse [said] the film has been shown on major Television stations in the USA, Japan, German and United Kingdom.&nbsp;He said it was absurd they could not do that in Ethiopia owing to reluctance by the Ethiopian Television, a state controlled media (Source: Anon 2008a).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:41px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background has-normal-font-size\" style=\"background-color:#f8f2ee\">Page compiled by Blayne Tesfaye &amp; Julia Potter, edited by&nbsp;Jeff Bauer &amp; Ian Cook (last updated October 2024). Page created for followthethings.com as part of the \u2018Anthropologies of global connection\u2019 course, Brown University. Jeff\u2019s editorial work was funded by a Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University Undergraduate Teaching and Research Assistantship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Anon (nda) The DVD.<em> blackgoldmovie.com<\/em> (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.blackgoldmovie.com\/dvd.php\">www.blackgoldmovie.com\/dvd.php<\/a> last accessed 7 March 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Anon (ndb) Black Gold: wake up and smell the coffee.<em> maketradefair.com<\/em> (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.maketradefair.com\/en\/index.php?file=blackgoldmovie_main.html&amp;cat=5&amp;subcat=1&amp;select=1\">www.maketradefair.com\/en\/index.php?file=blackgoldmovie_main.html&amp;cat=5&amp;subcat=1&amp;select=1<\/a> last accessed j March 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Anon (ndc) Black Gold: sowing the seeds for change. <em>maketradefair.com<\/em> (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.maketradefair.com\/en\/index.php?file=blackgoldmovie_main.html&amp;cat=5&amp;subcat=1&amp;select=1\">www.maketradefair.com\/en\/index.php?file=blackgoldmovie_main.html&amp;cat=5&amp;subcat=1&amp;select=1<\/a> last accessed 7 March 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Anon (2007) Ethiopia: smell the exploitation. <em>Africa News<\/em> 25 December<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details has-small-font-size is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>+23 sources<\/summary>\n<p>Anon (2008a) Trademarking: grown in Ethiopia.<em> Marketing Week<\/em> April 24, p.16<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anon (2008b) Ethiopia: Black Gold premiere.<em> Africa News<\/em> 24 March<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anon (2010) Mayor will take to stage at screening to receive town\u2019s award.<em> Todmorden News<\/em> (UK) 4 March<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Calhoun, D. (2007) Black Gold: movie review. <em>&nbsp;Time Out New York<\/em> 6 June <a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/newyork\/reviews\/83812\/Black_Gold.html\">(www.timeout.com\/film\/newyork\/reviews\/83812\/Black_Gold.html<\/a> last accessed 7 March 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chiari, G.P. (2007) Black Gold forums: about the movie&#8217;s paternalistic approach. <em>blackgoldmovie.com<\/em> 8 December (<a href=\"http:\/\/blackgoldmovie.com\/forum\/index.php?action=vthread&amp;forum=1&amp;topic=279\">http:\/\/blackgoldmovie.com\/forum\/index.php?action=vthread&amp;forum=1&amp;topic=279<\/a> last accessed 7 March 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>cofyknsult (2006) Black Gold forums: the film completely overlooks key factors. <em>blackgoldmovie.com<\/em> 24 October (<a href=\"http:\/\/blackgoldmovie.com\/forum\/index.php?action=vthread&amp;forum=1&amp;topic=279\">http:\/\/blackgoldmovie.com\/forum\/index.php?action=vthread&amp;forum=1&amp;topic=65<\/a> last accessed 7 March 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cycon, D. (2007) <em>Javatrekker: dispatches from the world of fair trade coffee<\/em>. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Doane, M. (2010) Relationship coffees. Structure and agency in the fair trade system. in Lyon, S. and Moberg, M. (eds)<em> Fair trade and social justice: global ethnographies.<\/em> New York: New York University Press<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fellner, K. (2008) Starbucks vs Ethiopia.<em> Foreign Policy in Focus<\/em> 15 September <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fpif.org\/articles\/starbucks_v_ethiopia\">(www.fpif.org\/articles\/starbucks_v_ethiopia<\/a> last accessed 7 March 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Francis, M. &amp; Francis, N. (nda) Black Gold: filmmaker Q&amp;A.<em> PBS Independent Lens<\/em> (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blackgold\/qa.html\">www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blackgold\/qa.html<\/a> last accessed 7 March 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Francis, M. &amp; Francis, N. (ndb) Directors\u2019 statement.<em> blackgoldmovie.com<\/em> (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blackgold\/qa.html\">www.blackgoldmovie.com\/directors.php<\/a> last accessed 7 March 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Francis, M. &amp; Francis, N. (2006)&nbsp;Black Gold \u2013 Fair Trade, Sundance, and Starbucks\u2019 \u2018Charm Offensive\u2019 in Park City.<em> Huffington Post<\/em> 2 February (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/marc-and-nick-francis\/black-gold-fair-trade-sun_b_15036.html\">www.huffingtonpost.com\/marc-and-nick-francis\/black-gold-fair-trade-sun_b_15036.html<\/a> last accessed 7 March 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Francis, M. &amp; Francis, N. (2007) Starbucks issue press statement about Black Gold: filmmakers respond. <em>blackgoldmovie.com<\/em> 16 January (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.blackgoldmovie.com\/blog.php\/?p=43\">www.blackgoldmovie.com\/blog.php\/?p=43<\/a> last accessed 7 March 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hornaday, A. (2006) A spike in supply chain muckraking: films explore economy\u2019s social costs<em>. Washington Post<\/em> 10 December<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marshall (2006) Black Gold forums: guilt &amp; ridicule. <em>blackgoldmovie.com<\/em> 25 November (<a href=\"http:\/\/blackgoldmovie.com\/forum\/index.php?action=vthread&amp;forum=1&amp;topic=85\">http:\/\/blackgoldmovie.com\/forum\/index.php?action=vthread&amp;forum=1&amp;topic=85<\/a> last accessed 7 March 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Murray, N. (2006) Review of Black Gold. <em>The Onion A.V. Club<\/em> 5 October (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.avclub.com\/articles\/black-gold,3766\/\">www.avclub.com\/articles\/black-gold,3766\/<\/a> last accessed 7 March 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parkinson, D. (2007) Review of Black Gold. <em>Empire<\/em> (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.empireonline.com\/reviews\/ReviewComplete.asp?FID=135039\">www.empireonline.com\/reviews\/ReviewComplete.asp?FID=135039<\/a> last accessed 7 March 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reed, N. (2008) Wal-mart executives discuss future of \u2018Black Gold\u2019&nbsp;at U. Arkansas.<em> University Wire<\/em> (USA) 7 April<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scheck, F. (2006) Review of Black Gold. <em>Hollywood Reporter<\/em> 11 October<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Seager, A (2007) Starbucks stirred by fair trade film.<em> The Guardian <\/em>(UK) 29 January (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/business\/2007\/jan\/29\/development.filmnews\">www.guardian.co.uk\/business\/2007\/jan\/29\/development.filmnews<\/a> last accessed 7 March 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Starbucks (2007) Starbucks statement on Black Gold film. <em>Business and Human Rights Resource Centre<\/em> [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.business-humanrights.org\/Links\/Repository\/896958\/jump\">download<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tsui, C. (2007a) Film raises hackles in the coffee shops of power.<em> South China Morning Post <\/em>3 April, p.4<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tsui, C. (2007b) Using the plot.<em> South China Morning Post<\/em> 26 March, p.5<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details has-small-font-size is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Image credit<\/summary>\n<p><strong>Speaking icon:<\/strong> Speaking (https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/icon\/speaking-5549886\/) by M Faisal from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0) Modified August 2024<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div><p id=\"pvc_stats_7685\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"7685\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/followthethings.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p><div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>followthethings.comGrocery &#8220;Black Gold: Wake Up &amp; Smell The Coffee&#8220;A documentary film directed by Marc &amp; Nick Francis, starring Tadesse Meskela, for Speak-It Films &amp; Fulcrum Productions.Trailer embeded above. Rent or buy on Vimeo here. Search streaming availability here. 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