| Corporate America continues to rear it's ugly head (when do we not see it?), this time the threat to American freedom comes from Chevron. See the article from Robert Redford on the battle between Chevron and Joe Berlinger over his expose on Chevron/Texaco and then click the header to go to the CRUDE fight for the First Amendment project. Support the project if you can, at the least make others aware of it. I have devoted a significant part of my life's work in support of the independent artist -- independent referring not to the size of a project, its funding or subject matter; rather, to the singular vision and voice of that artist. I founded Sundance Institute 30 years ago out of the belief that it is vital to ensure that the artist's voice remains vibrant, valued and heard in civil society at large. It is with this in mind that I ask you to join me in bringing wider attention and broader support to a critically important case currently in play in U.S. courts. On May 6, 2010 Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ordered filmmaker Joe Berlinger to turn over to Chevron Corporation all raw footage -- some 600 hours -- from the making of his documentary, Crude: The Real Price of Oil. Chevron has sued to use this footage to bolster its legal proceedings in the very same case that is the central subject of Berlinger's film. The potential ramifications of this for the journalist community, film world and society in general are both shocking and profound. Joe Berlinger has been connected to the Sundance family in a variety of ways for a number of years. Crude made its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival; he has volunteered his time and expertise to Sundance Institute by serving as both a competition Juror and a Festival panelist, and he has participated in the Institute's Documentary Film Program. He has directed Sundance Channel's award-winning Iconoclast series along with Bruce Sinofsky and his films have been broadcast on the Channel as well. His stellar career includes such landmark documentaries as Brothers Keeper, Paradise Lost and Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, all of which premiered at our Festival. But even if there were not these connections, I would strongly call for his support. Here's why. Filmmakers like Joe Berlinger fulfill a crucial role in today's society by providing independent information on pressing contemporary human rights and social issues. Their success as storytellers depends on access to those men and women willing to talk on camera. If the subjects of those documentaries are fearful of the ramifications of telling the truth then the filmmaker has no story. Without a shield law, there is no recognized journalist/filmmaker/source protection, creating the very scenario we have now. The judges in this case must recognize this is first and foremost a first amendment issue. The higher courts need to overturn the decision and adhere to higher standards of journalistic privilege. If we allow the voice of the independent artist to be stifled we should expect nothing less than extreme repercussions for freedom of information...and freedom in general. You can support Berlinger's legal efforts by going here. Robert Redford is the Founder and President of Sundance Institute, a non-profit arts organization which supports independent artists worldwide. www.sundance.org |
About this project
The makers of the award-winning documentary CRUDE, which chronicles the inside story of the largest and most controversial environmental lawsuit on the planet--a 17-year, $27 billion struggle between 30,000 Ecuadorean rainforest dwellers and Chevron--are currently embroiled in a legal battle with Chevron, who has subpoenaed the CRUDE filmmakers and the nearly 600 hours of raw footage accumulated during the production. Our attorneys at Frankfurt Kurnit have argued that our footage is protected by the journalist's privilege, and forcing us to hand it over to any third party (either Chevron, the plaintiffs' lawyers, or anyone else) is a violation of our First Amendment rights.But on May 6th, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled in Chevron's favor, creating a frightening precedent that we and many of our esteemed colleagues--from Bill Moyers to Michael Moore--agree will have a chilling effect on investigative journalism and documentary filmmaking as we know it.
We are appealing Judge Kaplan's ruling, but unfortunately, the fight is extraordinarily costly. As the third-largest corporation in America, Chevron has far more financial resources at its disposal than we do. We have set up this Kickstarter page as a way for our supporters to help us raise funds for our defense against Chevron and stand up in favor of the future of documentary filmmaking and investigative journalism.
Please donate whatever you can and pass this link on to others who may be interested in supporting the cause. Any financial support you can provide will be greatly appreciated, not just by us, but surely by numerous journalists and documentary filmmakers around the world who have voiced their support for our cause. If we fail to prevail in this case it will undoubtedly set a frightening precedent for the future of journalism and documentary filmmaking.
For those of you who have reached out to us through www.crudethemovie.com asking what you can do to help, this is it. CRUDE's Director/Producer Joe Berlinger has contributed a significant amount of his personal funds towards this case, but now we need to raise substantial additional funds for the appeals process. With your pledge, you can play an active role and make a very real difference in what has quite rapidly spiraled into an historic battle for the freedom of the press, the protection of the journalist, and the foundation of documentary film.
We hope you will help us put up a good fight.
-Joe Berlinger & Team CRUDE
*Recent Articles on the case include:
-LA Times Editorial "Chevron Sues Over 'Crude': A Documentary's Unused Footage, Akin to Reporters' Notes, Should be Protected
(http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-chevron-20100521,0,3553969.story)
-Bill Moyers' & Michael Winship's "Chevron's 'Crude' Attempt to Suppress Free Speech"
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-moyers/chevrons-crude-attempt-to_b_576595.html)
-John Shwartz & Dave Itzkoff's "Should a Documentary Filmmaker Get a Journalist's Privilege?"
(http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/08/us/08pollution.html...)
-Dave Itzkoff's "Oscar Winners Back Filmmaker in Dispute With Chevron"
(http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/oscar-winners-back-filmmaker-in-dispute-with-chevron/...)
For More articles on the case, please visit http://www.crudethemovie.com/crude-blog/
Project location: New York, NY
No comments:
Post a Comment