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Contains no material likely to offend or harmThe grammar of contemporary coffee culture is well established: in your local high street coffee house, there will be sofas, newspapers, and a smiling barista. But in Black Gold, directors Marc and Nick Francis search out the real story behind our lattes. This documentary follows Tadesse Meskela, representative of a group of Ethiopian coffee farmers, as he struggles to get a decent price for their beans. True, fair trade coffee is not the newest story around, but Black Gold still makes for arresting viewing.
Meskela is head of the Oromia Coffee Farmers' Co-operative Union, and the 74,000 farmers that he represents grow some of the finest coffee on earth. You might think that with the unstoppable rise of Starbucks et al, times would be good; in fact, prices are dropping, and thousands of families face starvation. Meskela travels to Seattle and London in search of a good deal; meanwhile, back in the affluent western world, we watch baristas compete against each other at the annual world championships, and see fair trade talks collapse at the World Trade Organisation.
"A SHOCKING REVELATION"
The story Black Gold wants to tell isn't new to most of us. But it's shocking, nevertheless, to see the hard end of African trade injustice in such a stark light. Just witness the incredulity of the Oromia farmers when Meskela tells them that in the USA one cup of coffee sells for $2.50. They sell one kilo of coffee for 25 cents. The power to change that, says Meskela, lies with western consumers. After Black Gold, non fair trade coffee will never taste the same again.
Parts in Amharic with English subtitles.
Black Gold is released in UK cinemas on Friday 8th June 2007.
