Appearances by DARYL HANNAH, STUART TOWNSEND: Introduction by Q’ORIANKA KILCHER
Interviews Available: Directors Martin O’Brien & Robbie Proctor, Daryl Hannah and Q’Orianka Kilcher
Los Angeles, California – Celebrity activists Q’Orianka Kilcher and Daryl Hannah and other industry luminaries will team up this Saturday at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood for the world premiere of a new short film ‘Justicia Now’. The film (30 min.) was originally slated to premiere at the Artivist Film Festival but Director Martin O’Brien pulled out after the festival’s announcement late last week of a new relationship with Petrobras, Brazil’s state-owned oil company with a controversial record of drilling in pristine areas of the Amazon rainforest, including on the territories of uncontacted indigenous peoples.
‘Justicia Now’ is a documentary about ChevronTexaco’s toxic legacy in the Northern Ecuadorian region of the Amazon rainforest – and a courageous group of people called Los Afectados (The Affected Ones) who are seeking justice for the ensuing cancer, sickness and death in the largest environmental class action lawsuit in history.
The Artivist Film Festival announced their selection of Petrobras as a ‘presenting sponsor’ last week, just days after indigenous leaders held a protest outside the Petrobras offices in the Ecuadorian capitol of Quito to protest the oil giant’s plans to drill in Yasuni National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and thought to be the Amazon’s most biodiverse park,and home to uncontacted indigenous peoples. Petrobras also faces allegations of slave labor at another of its petroleum projects.
Despite O’Brien’s appeal to Artivist Board Members and staff to return all funds from Petrobras and formally announce the severing of ties with the company, Artivist management chose to retain a substantial advertising contribution from the company, despite their commitment to drop the company’s Presenting Sponsorship status (a claim they have yet to make public).
Celebrities such as Daryl Hannah and Q’Orianka Kilcher, and international NGOs such as Amazon Watch pulled their support for the Artivist Film Festival and are supporting the independent screening event of ‘Justicia Now’ at its alternate venue, the Raleigh Studios in Hollywood on Saturday, November 10th at 6:30pm. The screening is free, however donations will be welcomed.
O’Brien and others also asked Artivist for a commitment to create environmental and social justice guidelines to screen future potential funders to ensure that the festival’s practice lives up to its stated mission and honor the spirit of the filmmakers it claims to support. O’Brien won the ‘Environmental Preservation’ award at last year’s Artivist Film Festival for his documentary ‘Freedom Fuels’ and was previously an enthusiastic supporter of the Festival.
“We are sad to see that the young Artivist Film Festival is falling for the corporate greenwashing of Petrobras by refusing to omit this oil company from their program. This is allowing the company to exploit the moral standing of the film festival and the environmental community they represent,” O’ Brien said.
Daryl Hannah, Q’Orianka Kilcher and Actor/Director Stuart Townsend are interviewed in ‘Justicia Now’ and will be available for media interviews before the screening and panel discussion with the film’s directors and representatives from Amazon Watch.
Of her experience witnessing ChevronTexaco’s legacy in Ecuador, Hannah said: “Everything the communities live on or off is poisoned. There are epidemics of cancer, every type of cancer in children, babies, women and men. It’s heartbreaking and it’s reprehensible.”
“I was there. I witnessed the Big Oil crimes these multinational oil companies are committing on human life and the environment! Seeing is believing and in this day of media and technology, it is our responsibility to shed light on these Issues through our work. ‘Justicia Now’ is doing just that!” said Q’Orianka Kilcher, actress and Amazon Watch Youth Ambassador.
O’Brien’s commitment to advocacy filmmaking has inspired him to utilize cutting edge film distribution techniques, and ‘Justicia Now’ will be available for rapid dissemination via a FREE download which will commence at 11:11AM on November 11th from the website at www.JusticiaNow.org.
