The Coca-Cola Case - Film Tour
The Coca-Cola Case - A documentary film about Coke and labour rights in the bottling plants.
In January, February and March of 2010 the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and Cinema Politica are teaming up to organize a tour of the documentary THE COCA-COLA CASE, a film about the legal case against Coca-Cola and their operations in Colombia. Below are the tour dates, the film's synopsis, trailer and other information.
***UPDATE***On January 11, 2010, lawyers representing Coca-Cola sent Cinema Politica a letter implying that by showing THE COCA COLA CASE throughout our network we were violating the law. As far as we have been told, this is not the case, and we are continuing with our plans to screen this critical and controversial documentary throughout our network. For more on the legal letter, check out the media links at the bottom of this page.
Tour Dates and Locations
Montreal, QC
Monday, January 18 @ 7:30 pm,
Concordia University
Sackville, NB
Sunday, January 24 @ 7:30 pm,
Mount Allison University
Ottawa, ON
Monday, January 25 @ 7 pm,
Carleton University
Vancouver, BC
Thursday, January 28 @ 12:30 pm,
Norm Theatre, University of British Columbia
Fraser Valley, BC
Thursday, January 28 @ 6:30 pm,
Open Nite Theatre, Mission
Fredericton, NB
Friday, January 29 @ 7 pm,
Conserver House
Halifax, NS
Monday, February 1 @ 7 pm,
University of King's College
Halifax, NS
Tuesday, February 2 @ 7 pm,
Saint Mary's University
Cape Breton, NS
Wednesday, February 3 @ 7 pm,
Royal Bank Lecture Theatre, Cape Breton University
London, ON
Friday, Februrary 5 @ 7 pm,
Kings College
Woods Hole, USA
Friday, February 5 @ 7:30 pm,
Woods Hole Firehouse
Stockholm, Sweden
Monday, February 8 @ 7 pm,
Stockholm University
Edmonton, AB
Wednesday, February 10 @ 6:30 pm
University of Alberta
Windsor, ON
Thursday, February 11 @ 7 pm,
University of Windsor
Saint John, NB
Friday, February 12 @ 6:30 pm,
Saint John Regional Library
Truro, NS
Monday, February 15 @ 7 pm
Olde Cafe, 41 Inglis Place
Yellowknife, NWT
Wednesday, February 17 @ 7:30 pm,
Northern United Place
Trondheim, Norway
Thursday, February 18 @ 7 pm,
Trondheim University
Saskatoon, SA
Friday, February 19 @ 7 pm,
Broadway Theatre
Nipissing University, North Bay, ON
Monday, February 22 @ 7 PM
R-309
Lethbridge, AB
Tuesday, February 23 @ 7 pm,
University of Lethbridge
Toronto - Danforth, ON
Thursday, March 4 @ 8:15 pm,
Location: TBD
Peace River, AB
Tuesday, March 9 @ X pm,
location TBD
Antigonish, NS
Saturday, March 11 @ 7 PM
Saint-Francis Xavier University (Nicholson Tower)
Auckland, New-Zealand
Tuesday, March 16 @ X pm,
location TBD
Winnipeg, MT
Tuesday, March 23 @ X pm,
The University of Winnipeg, Manitoba Board Room
2nd floor of Manitoba Hall (Room 2M70)
Moncton, NB
Tuesday, March 30 @ X pm,
location TBD
Film Trailer
Film Synopsis
Colombia is the trade union murder capital of the world. Since 2002, more than 470 workers’ leaders have been brutally killed, usually by paramilitaries hired by private companies intent on crushing the unions. Among these unscrupulous corporate brands is the poster boy for American business: Coca-Cola.
Talk to Martin Gil: His brother Isidro was killed at point-blank range while working at the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Carepa, because he was part of a union bargaining unit. Like most violent crimes committed against Colombian union leaders, Gil’s murder went unpunished.
However, U.S. lawyers Daniel Kovalik and Terry Collingsworth, as well as activist Ray Rogers, stepped in and launched an ambitious crusade against the behemoth Coca-Cola. In an incredible three-year saga, filmmakers Germán Gutiérrez and Carmen Garcia follow these heroes in a legal game of cat and mouse. From Bogotá to New York, Guatemala to Atlanta, Washington to Canada, The Coca-Cola Case maintains the suspense of a hard-fought struggle.
The lawyers filed several cases at the U.S. federal court against Cola-Cola for murder, abduction and torture committed in Colombia and Guatemala. Thanks to activist Ray Rogers, they also attacked the brand image of the Atlanta-based giant, with the devastating campaign Stop Killer Coke!, causing dozens of U.S. colleges and universities to boycott the drink.
Still the company would not give up. After five years of haggling, will the lawyers get justice? In the end, they reach a settlement of sorts, but what will the victims choose - cash, or power and integrity?
+ The film's official site.
+ The film's Cinema Politica page.
+ Become a fan on the film's Face Book page.
Media Coverage of the Tour
+ Sickly Sweet in The Hour
+ Filmmakers refuse to be intimidated by soft drink giant in the Montreal Gazette
+ Coca-Cola intimidates student group over film screening at ArtThreat.net
+ Sickly Sweet Censorship at MediaCoop.ca
+ Coca-Cola lawyers threaten Cinema Politica in The Link
+ Corruption Classic in The Link
+ The Cinema politica vs. Coca-Cola classic at community.hour.ca
+ Cola flick fizzes in the Mirror
+ A bottle of pop has profit margins to kill for in The Concordian
+ Cinema Politica and a Case of Coke at the Montreal Gazette online
+ Cinema Politica Screens, Streams NFB Content at MediaCaster Magazin
+ Film group says plans to screen Coca-Cola doc drawing company's ire at Yahoo News
+ Coca-Cola vill stoppa kritisk film at FriaTidningen
+ Coke discourages screenings of labour documentary at CBC.ca (the story also ran on CBC-TV, CBC Radio and Radio-Canada TV and Radio
+ Coca-Cola documetnary draws company's ire at CTV.ca
+ ”Ett sätt att försöka skrämma oss”
at Flamman
+ Killer Coke? Controversial Film The Coca Cola Case draws fire from soft drink giant at Kelowna.com
+ Film aimed at Coca-Cola draws icy response in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
+ Controverse autour de la projection du documentaire «L'Affaire Coca-Cola»
+ Ημερολόγιο ενός πατέρα
+ Killer Coke? Film Courts Controversy in the Windsor Star
+ Film claims Coke is a 'killer' in the Boston Herald
+ Cinema Politica London puts Coca Cola in hot seat at IFPress.com
+ Does Coca-Cola kidnap, torture and murder? at the Meliorist
+ Killer Coke is no Joke in The Sheaf
Downloads
+ Download the NFB press release about the tour in English and in French
+ Download the Cinema Politica press release, issued after the legal letter from Coke
Killer Coke Activism
+ Check out the Killer Coke campaign's website, especially the student section if your campus is battling the bottling giant on campus.
+ The Coca Cola off Canadian Campuses Face Book Group
+ The Polaris Institute
