Shift the Focus, Shoot the Messenger, Kill the Message

This episode of PUSHBACK Talks exposes what can happen when independent filmmakers and human rights advocates tell stories about multinational corporations causing people serious harm. The co-hosts discuss the true story of Fredrik being sued by DOLE, the biggest fruit company in the world, for making a documentary about the harm they were causing their workers. Fredrik's film BANANAS!* follows a court case in Los Angeles where banana workers from Nicaragua sued the DOLE Food Company for the use of a banned pesticide that made the workers sterile. Just as the film was about to premiere, DOLE came after Fredrik, his company, and the film’s producer, in a big way. Divide and conquer. Lawyers, media spin, a PR company, intimidating journalists, Astroturfing, scare tactics. Drawing on this experience, Leilani and Fredrik discuss freedom of the press, Blackstone’s reaction to PUSH, and the different ways in which independent filmmakers and human rights advocates can reclaim narratives, occupy public space and shift the focus back.  WG Film Vimeo Page:https://vimeo.com/wgfilm/vod_pages↓ CLAIM YOUR 25% VIMEO DISCOUNT  ↓Big Boys Gone Bananas!*Code - pushbackhttps://vimeo.com/r/2Rmv/a1o0Z0xHc2Bananas!*Code - pushbackhttps://vimeo.com/r/2Rmu/a1o0Z0xHc2Produced by WG Film Recorded & Edited by Mikey JonesMusic by Florencia Di ConcilioSocial Media & Support Team - Louise Gustafsson, Maja Moberg & Melinda BergstrandSupport the show

Om Podcasten

Cities are becoming increasingly unliveable for most people. Costs are rising but incomes are not. Sky-high rents, evictions, homelessness, and substandard housing are common realities for urban dwellers across the planet. There is a global housing crisis. How did this basic human right get so lost? Who is pushing people out of their homes and cities, and what’s being done to pushback? 

On the heels of the release of the award-winning documentary, PUSH, filmmaker, Fredrik Gertten and Leilani Farha, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing, have reconvened. Join the filmmaker and the advocate as they reflect on their experiences making PUSH and exchange ideas and stories about the film's central issue: the financialization of housing and its fall-out. 

For more about PUSH and to view it:  www.pushthefilm.com 

For more about Fredrik Gertten and his other films: www.wgfilm.com

For more about Leilani Farha in her new role, Global Director of The Shift: www.make-the-shift.org