PUSHBACK Talks
Landlords without faces, apartments without tenants. In 2019, filmmaker Fredrik Gertten released Push, an award-winning documentary that explores the unaffordable, unlivable city, and the growing global housing crisis. Following the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Leilani Farha, the film sought to understand why cities around the world are becoming increasingly expensive.
In June of 2020, Fredrik and Leilani teamed up again to continue the conversation they began with the film, and PUSHBACK Talks was born. Since then, PUSHBACK Talks has grown into an exploration of the social, political, and economic forces that shape our world, and of the actions people are taking to push back against inequality, corruption, authoritarian systems, poverty, war, and the shift towards far-right conservatism.
Join the Filmmaker (Gertten) and the Advocate (Farha) as they dissect these topics, uncover the connections between them, and search for solutions. How can we, as individuals, movements, and communities, fight back – push back – to build societies where every human being has the right to live equally, freely, and with dignity?
Listen to PUSHBACK Talks and join the conversation for a better, fairer world.
For more about PUSH and to view it: www.pushthefilm.com
For more about Leilani Farha and her organization, The Shift: www.make-the-shift.org
For more about Fredrik Gertten and his other films: www.wgfilm.com
If you are interested in watching his newest documentary: www.breakingsocialfilm.com
PUSHBACK Talks
Shift the Focus, Shoot the Messenger, Kill the Message
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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
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Big Boys Gone Bananas!*
Code - pushback
https://vimeo.com/r/2Rmv/a1o0Z0xHc2
Bananas!*
Code - pushback
https://vimeo.com/r/2Rmu/a1o0Z0xHc2
Produced by WG Film
Recorded & Edited by Mikey Jones
Music by Florencia Di Concilio
Social Media & Support Team - Louise Gustafsson, Maja Moberg & Melinda Bergstrand