November 2013: Shell is hell — Poison Fire and Delta Boys PLUS food and discussion

We missed the first Sunday this month. But we’ve got a double bill (and vegan food and discussion!) on the second Sunday instead. We’ll be watching two documentaries about Shell in the Niger Delta, and talking about the issues raised together with an activist from the Niger Delta.

Fucking hell shell are fucking up the entire planet!

On 22nd October, three activists were arrested for the disruption of a Shell recruitment booth in Oxford city centre. They were fined £180 for criminal damage and obstruction of police officers. On the film night there will be a donations pot to raise money to pay the fines. For more info, read their story on Oxford Indymedia.

Poison Fire follows a team of local activists as they gather “video testimonies” from communities on the impact of oils spills and gas flaring. We see creeks full of crude oil, devastated mangrove forests, wellheads that has been leaking gas and oil for months. We meet people whose survival is acutely threatened by the loss of farmland, fishing and drinking water and the health hazards of gas flaring.

Delta Boys explores the untold stories of the Niger Delta militancy – rebels who band together in the face of corrupt government oppression in this oil-rich region of Nigeria – following the lives of two militants: Ateke Tom, the “Godfather” of the Niger Delta Vigilante Force, and Chima, a 21-year-old who left home to join the fight. The film also documents life in a tiny fishing village caught in the crossfire of the conflict. Mama, a 22-year-old,struggles to give birth to her first child with no access to modern medical care, while raids are launched from a militant camp across the river. The personal stories of Chima, Ateke, and Mama reflect a broader global struggle between entrenched power and corporate interests and an underserved population.

There’ll also be awesome vegan food!