‘The Grab’ – Gabriela Cowperthwaite
The newly released documentary The Grab is an alarming film, one which the director refers to as “an investigative thriller” and offers a great deal of insight into recent global events. The film is the end product of six years of investigation by an impressive and diverse team of reporters, activists, and insiders, the data ultimately put together into a documentary by director and co-producer Gabriela Cowperthwaite, known for her acclaimed 2013 exposé, Blackfish. Following a break from documentary filmmaking and some successful work in feature film, Cowperthwaite returned to the genre when she encountered the film she says she “needed to do”. The deceptively simple subject matter: food and water.
The Grab is a tightly packed report which reveals the political and economic consequences of threatened shortages of food and fresh water, a result of combined causes, including climate change and pollution. As rising food prices and shortages cause distress in many parts of the world, powerful nations compete to either hoard food and water, gain control of its production and distribution, or use it as a geopolitical weapon. More than enough evidence is provided to demonstrate that food and water are becoming political footballs – or, as one reporter expressed it, a group of nations are establishing themselves as the new OPEC, controlling food rather than oil. In fact, the film is so densely loaded with data that the challenge is to present it in a way that is sufficiently organised to be understood and to make it clear, interesting, and relatable enough to sustain interest. The film meets the challenge. The avalanche of information is still a bit overwhelming, but careful attention to narration, pacing, visual techniques, witness interviews, and appropriate use of on-site footage manages to get it all across without completely exhausting the viewer.
The film succeeds by setting out with one factual report at a time, in very simple terms, only eventually gathering them together and establishing the common thread. It starts slowly, with a reporter discussing a seemingly unimportant bit of news: China had purchased an American pork products company. Oddly, the financial records referred to the purchase “carrying out the mandate of the Chinese government” and fulfilling China’s “social responsibility”. This led the reporter to the vast extent of the buyout. From here, the footage moves to a bizarre story of Saudi Arabia buying a plot of farmland in Arizona, partly to pump out and export so much water it completely drained the aquifers of other farms as far as the eye could see. We are offered explanations gradually, as needed, including the concerns expressed by powerful nations about coming shortages and the surprising, furtive ways in which they might not only stay ahead of food and water shortages but use them to the state’s financial and political benefit.
Russia enters the conversation at one point, a moment when investigators offer plausible explanations for the invasion of Ukraine, which do not come up in most news reports; as well as a peculiar but entertaining digression into Russia’s importation of American cowboys into their northern regions, and the reasons behind it. The film covers all the major players, both nations and corporate entities, who have a stake in food and water shortages, and demonstrates their respective strategies – some relatively benign, others pernicious and competitive. Surprise witnesses describe their part in these plans, including not only political operatives but unexpected players such as mercenary soldiers. Reporters discuss their discoveries of mysterious, determinedly anonymous business interests buying up water or farmland through virtually untraceable shell companies.
The immediate victims of this ‘grab’ are not overlooked, including ordinary consumers, defrauded farmers, and communities deprived of their drinking water. The film takes time to follow a group of central African farmers having their farmland summarily taken by unnamed new owners in a process described as, essentially, a new wave of colonisation. A grassroots lawyer trying to fight the process of quasi-legal land confiscation, which appears to be spreading in many parts of Africa, is Brigadier Siachitema, a Zambian-born Oxford and Georgetown-educated lawyer. Siachitema also participates in the film and provides some fascinating and disturbing background on the global farmland grab. Finally, and more optimistically, the film concludes with feasible solutions to this disturbing trend.
This is a challenging film with content that, for all its attention to clarity and organisation, requires close attention to absorb properly. However, it is an impressive feat to take the findings of years of an international investigation by multiple researchers in various fields and arrange them into a film that is not only informative, but highly watchable. A variety of speakers and pertinent location footage help keep things interesting. In fact, the editing of the film to allow for a staggered release of information, some surprises and shocks, an overall feeling of suspense enhanced by a subtle, evocative soundtrack, and the occasional hopeful note to dispel the bleakness of the data, makes the film oddly enjoyable, despite the grim subject matter.
It is well worth noting that the research behind this film was conducted by almost showily reputable investigators. Most of the reporters were involved with the California-based Centre for Investigative Reporting, a 40-year-old nonprofit news organisation which has six times been a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize has received multiple journalism awards, and has been responsible for breaking overlooked stories in a long series of impressive reports and exposés. The reporters behind the film’s content make an impressive list, including:
- Nate Halverson, who has reported internationally on fraud and organised crime and done extensive investigation into water shortages worldwide.
- Mallory Newman, a journalist, former member of US Military Police, and videographer for US presidential primaries.
- David Ritsher, documentarian and editor, who has covered everything from the illegal trade in nuclear weapons materials, to political corruption in Moscow.
- Emma Schwartz, a documentary filmmaker who has worked with countless publications, including Time, The Washington Post, CNN, Frontline, and Netflix, and has produced work from virtually every part of the globe.
- JoeBill Munoz, a producer and director, currently collaborating with the New York Times, whose work has examined solitary confinement in prisons and immigration, as well as food and water issues.
Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite commented during the film’s initial release: “In a time where the world can feel confusing and dim, our hope is that this six-year investigative deep dive of a film can help explain, unite, galvanise, and entertain people from all walks of life and from all corners of the world.” This highly recommended documentary has provided essential information which may well spark needed change.
Source link
