A Tower Of Promises
The world have never been bigger. In seconds we can connect. From Scandinavia to Bangladesh.
Globalization can create economical growth even in the poorest countries of the world. Good for some but not for all. The gap between the rich and the poor has never been bigger: 980 million people are starving every day, Just 1000 people own on
average more than 4 billion Dollars, 850 million people suffers from chronic malnutrition.
Who are the winners and who are the losers?
This documentary shows how Ericsson and Telenor for more than a decade have neglected to live up to their own Code Of Conduct. Fatal accidents, child labour, hazardous working conditions and environmental disasters are everyday occurrences in their factories in Bangladesh. Thousands of poor workers, work for subcontractors to Ericcson and Telenor (Two of the largest telecommunication companies in the world). These multinational
companies guarantees to the public and their shareholders, that the employees and suppliers have to live up to the most basic human rights and environmental standards. “A Tower Of Promises” documents how these guarantees are nothing more than empty words.
“Flip The Coin – A Tower Of Promises” is a co-production between SVT, Sweden – DR, Denmark and NRK, Norway. For more information, sales, international version please contact Tom Heinemann.
Surrounded By Enemies
Aracruz Celulose in Brazil is the world’s leading supplier of bleached eucalyptus pulp. The main figure in planning and establishing the company, is the Norwegian business man, Erling Lorentzen. He is married to Princess Ragnhild of Norway and the brother in law to King Harald. The company was established with the support from the brutal Brazilian military regime. The dictatorship lasted 21 years. In an interview with Harvard Business School, Erling Lorentzen states: “The military dictatorship was good in the beginning.” “It cleaned up a few things, but it lasted too long”. The documentary, “Surrounded by Enemies”, tells the story about Aracruz Celulose and the methods the companies men have used in building the powerful international company. This is documentary number two in the trilogy, “Flip the coin”, produced by Erling Borgen (Norway) and Tom Heinemann (Denmark). Erling Lorenten sold his shares in Aracruz Cellulose this summer and says he has, “…closed a door in Brazil”. But he has left behind many unsolved problems involving Aracruz Celulose. Aracruz was for nearly 40 years fighting for land with the Guarani and Tupinikim indians. The dispute was settled in 2007, when the Indians won, and Aracruz had to give back 11 000 hectar of land to the indigenous people. Now many other groups claim land from the pulp company. The Patoxo Indians, the Quilombolo-communities and the powerful landless movement. (MST) Environmentalists accuse Aracruz of environmental destruction through eucalyptus monocultures. And in this documentary, Aracruz admits, that the company has cut down Atlantic rainforest.
Both links in Norwegian, In the near future, the documentary will also be presented in an English version.
The Bitter Taste Of Tea
In the beautiful lush tea gardens in Kenya, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, millions of tea-workers struggle everyday – fighting to survive. They are plucking tea for multinational companies such as Lipton and Finlay’s.The companies promise the consumers, that they will act as responsible members of the global society protecting the environment and ensuring good working and living conditions for the workers. Nothing could be more wrong. The western consumers have turned to Fairtrade because Fairtrade/Max Havelaar guarantees, that the workers in the Fairtrade certified tea estates get a little extra money, every time the consumer buys their tea. This film tells the true story of how Fairtrade is not at all fair.
