SWEET CRUDE
“ A look at the very human cost of Nigeria’s oil wealth.”
-CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN”
“Add the petrohorrors in the Niger Delta to the ‘price of oil.’ There is nothing ‘sweet’ there, but the oil industry’s profits.”
-RALPH NADER”
“A movie about crime and shame, “Sweet Crude” is also a classic example of urgent, righteous- indignation agitprop cinema that succeeds in being not just angry, but art. Commercial prospects for this look at the cruel corporate exploitation of the Niger Delta will depend on how cannily its producers/promoters can frontload “Sweet Crude’s” unusual assets — d.p. Sean Porter’s painterly shooting, Julie Wolf’s funk-ethereal music and helmer Sandy Cioffi’s frighteningly gentle narration, all of which blend toseductive psychological effect, suggesting gossamer dreams about paradise lost, with an undertone of unrefined fury.”
-VARIETY”
“Carried by luscious visuals and a logically constructed call to action, “Sweet Crude” contains undeniable immediacy.”
-ERIC KOHN”
“The film is beautiful and stark. It clarifies the complex. And there’s poetry throughout. In other words, you want to check it out.”
-LAURA FLANDERS, GRIT TV”
Trailer for documentary feature film Sweet Crude 2010.
In a small corner of the most populous country in Africa, billions of dollars of crude oil flow under the feet of a desperate people. Immense wealth and abject poverty stand in stark contrast. The environment is decimated. The issues are complex, the answers elusive.
The documentary film Sweet Crude tells the story of Nigeria’s Niger Delta. The region is seething and the global stakes are high. But in this moment, there’s an opportunity to find solutions. What if the world paid attention before it was too late?
“What I wanted was closing footage for my documentary about oil production in the Niger Delta. What I got was a week in a Nigerian military prison.
-Sandy Cioffi”