Curse of the Black Gold – Trailer, ©Talking Eyes Media

50 years ago oil was discovered in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Today, Nigeria pumps 2.1 million barrels a day, making it the sixth largest oil-producing country in the world and a major oil partner of the United States. Although its oil industry generates billions in revenues every year, the average Niger Deltan struggles to survive on less than $1 per day.

These startling facts are powerfully portrayed in Curse of the Black Gold, a short-form multimedia film comprised of graphic photographs by world-renowned photojournalist Ed Kashi and produced by award-winning filmmaker Julie Winokur. With creative precision, Winokur weaves Kashi’s memorable photographs of villagers, local leaders, armed militants, and oil workers together with the impassioned voices of Nigerian poets, environmentalists, and human rights activists. Curse of the Black Gold exposes the enormous costs and devastating impact of oil exploitation and reveals how the convergence of government corruption, irresponsible practices of Big Oil, and abject poverty has created a militant movement for redress.

Photos in the video were culled from Kashi’s award-winning book, Curse of the Black Gold: 50 Years of Oil in the Niger Delta. Edited by University of California, Berkeley Professor, Michael Watts, the book also features text by Nigerian journalists and human rights activists.

Source: Talking Eyes Media