Film Series Presents ‘Crude’

A free screening of Crude, the final installment of the fourth annual Human Rights Film Series, Power and Privation, is set for Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. in Room 105 of College Hall.

Directed by Joe Berlinger, Crude is a real life, high-stakes legal drama revealing the inside story of the infamous “Amazon Chernobyl” case. The landmark case takes place in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador, pitting 30,000 indigenous and other rainforest dwellers against the U.S. oil giant Chevron.

The film follows the legal battle of the plaintiffs who claim that Texaco, which merged with Chevron in 2001, spent three decades causing irreparable harm and destruction to the ecosystem and people of the region. Chevron fights the claims saying the case is a complete fabrication brought about by “environmental con men” seeking to line their pockets with the company’s billions. The film presents this complex situation from multiple viewpoints and brings an important story of environmental peril and human suffering into focus.

Dr. Kent Moors, professor of political science, will speak before the film.

The Human Rights Film Series is presented by the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures.