Event

Drill, Baby, Drill!

One day the people who live in a small village located in far eastern Poland near the Ukrainian border, an ecologically pristine agricultural area called the lungs of Poland discover that Chevron, the world's fourth largest energy corporation plans to build a shale gas well in their village. At first the villagers are not against the construction of the gas well but after doing some research they discover that maybe having a shale gas well so near the farms is not a good idea. The farmers mobilize against Chevron. They appeal to politicians and government institutions to stop the construction, but their requests are met with silence. Suddenly the farmers discover that Chevron has sent bulldozers to start construction. The head of the village rushes to the field and notifies farmers around the area that Chevron has arrived! The filmmaker Lech Kowalski was there to film the first ever farmer rebellion against Chevron. But energy companies and the Polish government hope to hit a golden shale gas jackpot and the odds are against the farmers winning. The story about their struggle weaves around their actions and the realities that are taking place far away in Pennsylvania, called the "Saudi Arabia" of shale gas mining. It's too late to stop the energy companies in Pennsylvania but can the farmers win in Poland? What happens is a surprise, even to the farmers in this small village of fifty families.
France, 2013, 84 min., color, DVD, In English, and Polish with English Subtitles | Director: Lech Kowalski | Producer: Odile Allard