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Oil and Water

Environmental Justice • 1h 18m

Directed by Francine Strickwerda and Laurel Spellman Smith • Documentary • 2014 • 78 minutes

OIL & WATER is the coming of age story of two boys as they each confront one of the world's worst toxic disasters, the prolonged contamination of the Ecuadorian Amazon by Texaco and other oil companies. Hugo comes to America to fight for the survival of his tribe, the Cofan, while David goes to Ecuador to launch the world's first company to certify oil as 'fair trade.' Can Hugo become the leader his tribe so desperately wants him to be? Will David clean up one of the world's dirtiest industries?

This film is an intimate portrait of two young people finding their voices and trying to beat incredible odds. Their journeys lead them to explore what could be a more just future, not just for the people of the Amazon, but for all people around the world born with oil beneath their feet. Eight years in the making OIL & WATER is a shocking and inspiring David and Goliath story.

Tags
americas, anthropology and archaeology, area studies, bioregions and habitat, bullfrog films, business, business ethics, cancer, citizenship, climate change, climate1, cofan people, conflict resolution, cultural and ethnic studies, david poritz, development, doc, ecuador, ecuadorian amazon, energy, environment, equitable origin, expository, fair trade oil, forests and rainforests, fossil fuels, globalization, hugo lucitante, human rights, indigenous studies, labor and economics, latin american studies, oil and water, oil companies, oil contamination, oil drilling, oil industry, ovid, ovid_ca, petroamazonas, pipeline, politics and political science, pollution, s_0014, s_0041, s_0045, s_0089, s_0114, s_0126, s_0150, s_0155, s_0231, s_0232, s_0263, s_0273, s_0274, s_0430, s_0437, s_0445, s_0638, s_0674, social issues, social movements and activism, sociology, south america, texaco, the, title_nopqrs, title_o, toxic chemicals, toxic disaster, trade, world regions

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