After the avant-première at the European Parliament in October 2022, the Illusion of Abundance documentary has been widely welcomed with screenings in Film Festivals and key decision-makers’ events. The film, co-directed by Erika Gonzalez Ramirez and Matthieu Lietaert, tells the stories of resistance of three Latin American women defenders: Maxima Acuña (Peru), Bertha Zúñiga Cáceres (Honduras) and Carolina de Moura (Brazil). CIDSE and its member organisations – CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Fastenaktion, Misereor, Trócaire and Vastenactie – have been supporting this five-year initiative since the beginning, as it combines the strength of storytelling with advocacy work fighting corporate impunity. The film-makers are now calling for interested organisations to jump on board of a one-year impact tour in Latin America, starting this summer 2023.
A successful European advocacy tour
On 12 October 2022, The Illusion of Abundance was screened for the first time at the European Parliament. More than 20 political screenings have been organised throughout Europe as part of an advocacy tour with Brazilian human rights defenders, including Carolina, one protagonist of the documentary; these included the UN in Geneva, IFAD in Rome and the COP15 on Biodiversity in Montreal.
Over the next two years, the film will continue to be used for advocacy events, as the European Parliament and national parliaments across the EU are discussing legislation on corporate responsibility and access to justice for environmental defenders. At the initiative of CCFD-Terre Solidaire and the Commission Nationale Consultative des Droits Humains (CNCDH), a screening is scheduled on 11 April at the French National Assembly in Paris.
In parallel, the film is successfully spreading around the world and has been selected by 20 film festivals (FF) in no less than 11 countries. These include the “One World” FF in Prague (Czech Republic), the world’s largest human rights film festival and others in Brussels (Belgium), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Lima (Peru), Martinique (France), New Haven (Connecticut, USA), Philadelphia (USA), Portland (Oregon, USA), Prague (Czech Republic), Soria (Spain), Tübingen (Germany).
Next step: the Americas!
While the EU tour is still going on, the documentary is slowly but surely heading towards the Americas, from North to South. For Erika Gonzalez Ramirez and Matthieu Lietaert made this film not only for the world to know what global North corporations are doing in Latin America, but also for people from Latin America with a view to inspire resistance.
To this end, they are preparing a one-year impact tour in Latin America and are looking for interested organisations to make Maxima, Bertha and Carolina’s voices resonate in Latin America for all the environmental defenders who are risking their life, to protect our planet. If you wish to support this initiative, you can contact them via the documentary website.
This project is co-produced by the following international civil society organisations from eleven countries in the EU and the USA:
