Austin Fair Trade Film Festival Debuts This Weekend

in

Austin Fair Trade Film FestivalDespite growing up in Houston amongst diverse cultures, I didn't learn about fair trade practices until I moved to Austin in 1993. I stumbled across the annual International Holiday Market, which features jewelry, clothing and arts and crafts from artisans across the world. I've volunteered at the market for the last 16 years, and just over five years ago one of the featured fair trade retailers, Ten Thousand Villages, opened a local storefront.

One of the core principles of fair trade practices is that employers and exporters in developing nations agree to abide by fair employment and trade practices, including no child labor, promoting cooperative efforts and even directing some profits back towards the communities' health and education needs. Those retailers can then include the Fair Trade logo on their products. Austinites will have an opportunity to learn more at a new film festival this Saturday, May 8.

In honor of the World Fair Trade Day, which is held the second Saturday in May, the Austin Ten Thousand Villages retailer, Texas Coffee Traders and Fair Trade Austin are presenting the First Annual Fair Trade Film Festival at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar. The festival is an all-day event, featuring entertainment both indoor and outdoor.

The event schedule includes three sessions, with each session including pre-shows with the short film Fair Trade Coffee Production in the Monteverde Cloud Forest and a featured documentary film by a panel discussion. Out on the Alamo breezeway, attendees can enjoy free live music and artisan demonstrations at the Fair Trade Market.

Buyer Be Fair: The Promise of Product Certification tracks the path of coffee from Mexican growers to European consumers, while Maquilapolis (City of Factories) uses footage shot by female factory workers along the Mexican border -- American electronics sweatshops right in our own backyard. The final film, The Price of Sugar, was the South by Southwest 2007 Emerging Visions audience award winner. Narrated by Paul Newman, this film is about sugar harvesters in the Dominican Republic.

Event Schedule
Session 1:
12-2:30 pm
Feature film: Buyer Be Fair: The Promise of Product Certification
Panel discussion: "Fair Trade Certification: Is it worth the effort?"

  • RC Beall -- CEO of Texas Coffee Traders
  • Julie Irwin, PhD -- Professor of Marketing, McCombs School of Business
  • Michael Conroy, PhD -- Author, economist, Chairman of the Board, Transfair USA
  • Ryan McElroy, co-owner of Thunderbird Coffee
  • Mike McKim, President and CEO of Cuvee Coffee Roasting Company


Session 2: 3-5:30 pm
Feature film: MAQUILAPOLIS (City of Factories)
Panel discussion: "Fighting from Within: Worker influence and control in the maquiladoras"

  • Josefina Castillo -- Co-founder of the Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera project; 2010 recipient of the Austin Woman Humanitarian Award.
  • Terry Newton, PhD -- Professor of Mexican History, St. Edward's University
  • Sharla Megilligan, Executive Director of Makarios International


Session 3: 6-8:30 pm
Feature film: The Price of Sugar
Panel discussion: "Humanity and Affordability in the U.S.: Do we have to make a choice?"

  • Robert Jensen, PhD -- Author; Professor of Journalism, UT Austin; Board of Directors, Third Coast Activist
  • Manish Gupta -- Founder of Handmade Expressions
  • Bob Cash -- State director of the Texas Fair Trade Coalition, an affiliate of the national Citizens Trade Campaign

The film festival faced some controversy last month when Washington, D.C.-based lobbyists Patton Boggs sent letters to the festival organizers claiming that The Price of Sugar was "rife with errors." It was noted that they are suing the filmmakers for defamation on the behalf of the Vicini family, which owns many of the plantations featured in the film. However, Patton Boggs clarified that it just wanted one of its people to take part in the panel discussion and include the Vicinis' side. My understanding is that an invitation has been extended; whether Patton Boggs representatives attend will be quite interesting to see.

Tickets are now available at the Alamo Drafthouse website.

Interesting Event

The Austin Fair Trade Film Festival Debut was a wonderful event for all that were in attendance. I would suggest people make the effort to attend next year.