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Hyderabad police sabotages Anti-ADB film festival |
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Wednesday, 17 May 2006 |
The Andhra Pradesh government denied permission to organise a film festival 'Images of Resistance-Asian Destruction Bank', scheduled for May 3rd to 6th 2006 at NISIET, Yusafguda, Hyderabad. The festival, organized by the 'People's Forum Against ADB' a coalition of 97 organizations from different parts of Asia, had to be called off due to severe pressure from the Hyderabad police.
A panorama of documentaries and short films against the pro-rich and anti-poor policies advocated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) were to be screened in Hyderabad from 3-6 May at the NISIET Open-air amphitheatre in Yusufguda. The festival titled 'Images of Resistance & Asian Destruction Bank' would have covered a wide number of issues ranging from privatization of energy and water in South Asia to the displacement of indigenous people by mega infrastructure projects throughout the region.
'The ADB is part of a gang of four institutions, that includes the
World Bank, IMF and WTO, which are trapping developing countries in
debt and destroying the planet with their misguided development
projects' said K.P. Sasi, well-known film maker who was in Hyderabad to
protest against the ADB's 39th Annual Governor's Meeting. Sasi's film
'Development at Gun Point' was included for screening during the film
festival that had 15 different documentaries by filmmakers from around
Asia.
Other documentaries included 'Words on Water' by Sanjay Kak, which
looks at the struggle against big dams in the Narmada Valley and
'Bitter Drink', about the people of Plachimada in Kerala, a majority of
them tribals, who recently launched a struggle against Coca Cola, the
most powerful corporate company in the world over the latter's misuse
of water resources.
Films from overseas included 'The Big Blackout', a documentary by Satya
Sivarman and Daniel Chavez on the impact of neo-liberal power reforms
in Brazil, Colombia, South Africa and India and the search for
democratic and sustainable energy policies. From the United Kingdom
comes 'Suits and Savages' directed by Zoe Young and Dylan Howitt about
a Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and World Bank 'eco development'
project as also 'The Company We Keep', a documentary about a grandson
receiving few shares of Rio Tinto zinc (RTZ) from his grandmother and
discovering what the company does and what are shares in that process.
There were several documentaries from neighbouring Sri Lanka and
Bangladesh also on popular resistance against ADB funded mega projects
that have a negative impact on people and the environment.
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