At the delta of Niger river in Nigeria, where a vast proportion of the planet's oil is excavated, bombs attacks, abductions and murders form part of daily routine. This documentary portrays the image of "development", the way giant multinational petroleum companies would define it. Petroleum leaks in the river destroy flora and fauna, poison the food chain and consequently wipe out the 27 million indigenous people of the area - the Ijaws, the Ogoni and the Itsekiris. The inhabitants dare to ask the self-evident, they demand an end to it. As a response, they are massively and brutally attacked by special forces of the army and the police, which are armed by the oil companies. The camera meets at the river militia of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and presents to the world for the first time shattering images of their speed boat patrols and of their heavy weaponry. The Delta of the Niger is a lost paradise. As the documentary reveals, it is a place where despite the natural beauty, contemporary "globalized" hell prevails.

Greece, 2006

Director : Yorgos Avgeropoulos
Writer : Yorgos Avgeropoulos
Camera : Yiannis Avgeropoulos
Sound : Yiannis Avgeropoulos, Anastasia Skoubri
Editing : Dimitris Nikolopoulos
Music : Yiannis Paxevanis

Production : Small Planet Productions,
69 Doiranis st. Kallithea,
17672 Athènes, Greece
Tél : +30 210 9515 295
Fax : +30 210 9515 294
Email : info@smallplanet.gr

Co-Production : ERT Greek Public TV

Sales : Small Planet Productions,
69 Doiranis st. Kallithea,
17672 Athènes, Greece
Tél : +30 210 9515 295
Fax : +30 210 9515 294
Email : info@smallplanet.gr

Format: DV Cam. Colour
Running time: 1h05
Year of production: 2006



Reportage and Current Affairs