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"Black Gold" Debuts in New York City |
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Written by Lynsey Miller
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Equal Exchange was a proud sponsor of the debut screening of the documentary, "Black Gold: Wake up and Smell the Coffee," at the Cinema Village Theatre in New York City, on October 6th. The film, by Nick and Marc Francis, features coffee farmers from the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union in Ethiopia as they fight an uphill battle to keep their 74,000 member group afloat.
Tadesse Meskela, the co-op’s leader, spokesperson, and a central figure in the film, is portrayed tirelessly searching for Fair Trade coffee markets for the Ethiopian beans. Equal Exchange purchases Oromia’s beans which we in turn sell to food co-ops, supermarkets, restaurants, cafes, and congregations across the U.S.
The debut of “Black Gold” was a success with over 75 viewers attending. We were excited to partner with the New York City Fair Trade Coalition, an all-volunteer group, which has helped to introduce NYC cafes to the concept of Fair Trade. We were also happy to see old friends and customers at the event.
As each of the 75 folks entered the theatre to view “Black Gold,” they were offered a free cup of Equal Exchange Ethiopian coffee from the Oromia Co-op. Throughout the New York run of the film Cinema Village provided free samples of the Ethiopian brew.
Rodney North, from Equal Exchange and Scott Codey, from the New York City Fair Trade Coalition introduced the film and fielded questions about the coffee trade at large and the potential of an alternative Fair Trade system. It was good to have audience members who could jump in and add their thoughts.
One activist talked about how empowering and effective it is to ask your local café to carry Fair Trade. A restaurant manager shared how Equal Exchange espresso is not only great, but actually costs less than the espresso they had before switching to Fair Trade.
We encourage those who live in the following cities to see Black Gold, and to consider making the screening an event in their own communities.
Opening Dates and Locations:
| October 6th | New York, NY | Cinema Village |
| October 6th | Seattle, WA | Landmark Metro |
| October 6th | Bellevue, WA | Lincoln Square |
| October 13th | Chicago, IL | Gene Siskel Film Center |
| October 15th | Madison, WI | Orpheum |
| October 27th | Boston, MA | Coolidge Corner |
| November 10th | San Francisco, CA | Roxie |
| November 12th | Savannah, GA | Reel Savannah |
| December 8th | Washington, DC | Landmark E Street |
"Black Gold" Midwestern News Update
by Ron Arm
"Black Gold" opened at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Madison, Wisconsin on Sunday October 15th. The Equal Exchange Midwest Office, Just Coffee, of Cooperative Coffees, and a University of Wisconsin student Fair Trade group promoted the film debut mostly through posters and public announcements. Mike Moon of Just Coffee and I introduced the movie the first night. The following evening, Tadesse Meskela came to the film screening and afterwards held a question & answer session.
The Orpheum had scheduled the movie for only one additional night, but we were able to convince them to extend the showing through the 26th. I also managed to set up an interview for Tedesse at a local community radio station. Equal Exchange and Just Coffee will be sponsoring the final showing of the film. Invited guests will include coffeehouse owners and baristas who serve our Fair Trade coffees. Equal Exchange will provide tastings of our Ethiopian Full City brew.
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