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Dirty Energy
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Dirty Energy
IDFA 2012

Dirty Energy

Bryan D. Hopkins
United States
2012
94 min
International Premiere
Festival history
Plenty of information has already appeared in the media about the huge BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Now that most of the journalists have moved on, director Bryan D. Hopkins focuses his camera on those who have been left behind. They are the ones who have to live with the consequences of the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, and who are worrying about their health and their environment. They read in the papers that oil has been found in the eggs of shrimp, they hear about stranded stillborn dolphins, and they see with their own eyes that the populations of some animals are dwindling. Most of the locals make their living in the fishing industry, but its future is uncertain. For the owner of a large shrimp company, BP stands for "Bad People." It's an understandable view once you've heard how the company behaved during and after the spill. The local inhabitants share their experiences and fears in emotional interviews interspersed with background information and atmospheric shots. Then there's the sad conclusion of the author of two books about the comparable Exxon Valdez oil disaster in 1989: while no lessons have been learned when it comes to preventing or confining this kind of event, a great deal has been learned about how to avoid damage claims and harm to the perpetrator's image.
Credits
World Sales
    Cinema Libre Studio
    Cinema Libre Studio
Screening copy
    Flood Films
    Flood Films