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Justicia Now! Chevron – Texaco’s toxic legacy in Ecuador

WATCH THE EXTENDED TRAILER HERE: IF YOU LIKE TO YOU CAN DOWNLOAD A HIGH RES VERSION FROM MO FILMS FOR FREE. DOWNLOAD THE FILM FOR FREE HERE

WHO ARE WE AND WHAT ARE WE ABOUT?‘Justicia Now’ is a documentary about ChevronTexaco’s toxic legacy in the Northern Ecuadorian region of the Amazon rainforest – and a courageous group of people called Los Afectados (The Affected Ones) who are seeking justice for the ensuing cancer, sickness and death in the largest environmental class action lawsuit in history.Mofilms is a Not for Profit Company, creating content to help social awareness in regards to issues we feel are important. We then give the films away to try to get as many people to share, show and communicate with each other as possible. So effectively you the viewer are the distributor of this film, as it is only through word of mouth and recommendations will this film spread. Please feel free to share this film with anyone you feel may be interested or moved by this under reported story.

Justicia Now: features an interview with Pablo Fajardo Winner of the CNN Hero Award

DOWNLOAD A Quicktime VERSION OF THE FILM FOR FREE HERE

WHO ARE WE AND WHAT ARE WE ABOUT? ‘Justicia Now’ is a documentary about ChevronTexaco’s toxic legacy in the Northern Ecuadorian region of the Amazon rainforest – and a courageous group of people called Los Afectados (The Affected Ones) who are seeking justice for the ensuing cancer, sickness and death in the largest environmental class action lawsuit in history.

PRESS RELEASE: Pablo Fajardo Wins CNN Hero Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2007-12-07
Mitch Anderson: 415-342-4783
Simeon Tegel: 415-487-9600

Pablo Fajardo Wins CNN Hero Award

San Francisco – Pablo Fajardo, the lead lawyer for the 30,000 plaintiffs in the landmark environmental lawsuit against Chevron (formerly Texaco) in Ecuador has won the CNN Hero award, in the Fighting for Justice category.

Fajardo was chosen from more than 7,000 nominations from 93 countries submitted by viewers to CNN over five months. The international cable news station established the Fighting for Justice category to recognize leaders “advancing the cause of civil or equal rights”.

The honor again highlights the class-action lawsuit, brought by 30,000 impoverished rainforest dwellers, against one of the world’s largest corporations and Chevron’s fierce rearguard battle against the plaintiffs. The David-and-Goliath legal battle, expected to reach judgment in 2008, has the potential to set a world record for damages paid out by an oil company.

In total, 18 finalists were reviewed by CNN’s “blue ribbon panel” of 15 world leaders who chose the winners in each of six categories. The winners were unveiled last night in a live global telecast, “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute”, hosted by Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour, on CNN/US, CNN International and CNN en Español.

Fajardo insisted the award was recognition for all the plaintiffs and their supporters. “Many of those that I represent have lived for thousands of years in peace with nature and yet in only three decades, their traditional lifestyle has been almost destroyed by pollution,” he said.

“Our work in Ecuador is an example of the good things that can happen when thousands of people, most without money or power, can come together in a common effort to better themselves and the planet.”

Fajardo, 35, has been spearheading the legal team for the plaintiffs for several years, as they demand an environmental remediation from Chevron estimated to cost $6 billion. During nearly three decades of drilling in a vast, inhabited area of the Ecuadorian Amazon, Texaco dumped more than 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater. Now, impoverished local communities are suffering a wave of cancers, stillbirths, birth defects and other severe health problems.

Born into extreme poverty, Fajardo only became a lawyer in 2004, after first working as a manual laborer, including in the oil fields of his hometown of Lago Agrio, while completing a correspondence law degree.

During that time, Fajardo became an increasingly outspoken community leader, opposed to the devastation wrought by Texaco on his people and their once pristine rainforest lands. Now, in his first trial, Fajardo, who travels around by bicycle, finds himself confronting a team of highly-paid, extremely experienced lawyers contracted by Chevron.

Down the years, Fajardo appears to have paid a high price for his pursuit of justice. One of the friends who helped to pay for him to go through law school was murdered as was one of Fajardo’s brothers, a Christian minister. Neither murder has been resolved by the Ecuadorian authorities.

“I can’t think of a more worthy recipient of this award,” said Amazon Watch Executive Director Atossa Soltani. “Pablo is a true hero, committed with every bone in his body to achieving justice for his people and establishing a legal precedent that human rights must be respected by the extractive industries wherever they operate.”

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Watch the documentary Justicia Now in high def in divx

Watch the film Justicia Now on the stage 6 site using divx encoding.
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One Peoples Fight Against Big Oil

Justicia Now! Please vote on this story to get it onto Current TV

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Justicia NowJusticia Now Screeningby SMorrisey

Justicia Now video report from artivist protest on Current Tv website.

This is a great video report from Current.com posted by smorrisey,about the protest outside of Artivist film festival for taking money fromPetrobras, the ChevronTexaco of Brasil. Click Here To Watch the Report

JUSTICIA NOW! FREE DOWNLOAD, Featuring Daryl Hannah and Stuart Townsend

DOWNLOAD A Quicktime VERSION OF THE FILM FOR FREE HERE   

WHO ARE WE AND WHAT ARE WE ABOUT? 

‘Justicia Now’ is a documentary about ChevronTexaco’s toxic legacy in the Northern Ecuadorian region of the Amazon rainforest – and a courageous group of people called Los Afectados (The Affected Ones) who are seeking justice for the ensuing cancer, sickness and death in the largest environmental class action lawsuit in history.  

After the show.

We are back from LA.Thanks to everyone that showed up to the premiere of the film, considering the time we had to let people know where the film was shown, after we pulled it from Artivist film festival at the 24th hour.
Q’Orianka gave a inspiring passionate speach before the film started. 
The most encouraging thing was the hour long Q and A after the film with all in attendance staying and asking some very good questions answered by Darly Hannah, Q’Oriana Kilcher, Martin OBrien, Robbie Proctor and A rep from Amazon Watch.After the Screening a lot of people went over to the artivist film festival to protest. much of the petroblas promotional material was collected which we will share later.
More info to follow;
Some good reporting on the issue 
Ecorazzi
Film Stew

  

JUSTICIA NOW!: Director Pulls Documentary From Artivist Film Festival Over Controversial Oil Company Sponsorship; Celebrities, NGOS Support Pull Out.

DIRECTOR PULLS DOCUMENTARY FROM ARTIVIST FILM FEST OVER CONTROVERSIAL OIL COMPANY SPONSORSHIP; CELEBRITIES, NGOS SUPPORT PULL OUT

World Premiere Of ‘Justicia Now’ Saturday November 10th Moves to Raleigh Studios

Appearances by DARYL HANNAH, STUART TOWNSEND: Introduction by Q’ORIANKA KILCHER

Interviews Available: Directors Martin O’Brien & Robbie Proctor, Daryl Hannah and Q’Orianka Kilcher
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 7, 2007 Contact: Kristina Fitzsimmons, 510 750 9771 or press@mofilms.org

Los Angeles, California – Celebrity activists Q’Orianka Kilcher and Daryl Hannah as well as other industry luminaries will team up this Saturday at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood for the world premiere of a new short film ‘Justicia Now’. The film (30 min.) was originally slated to premiere at the Artivist Film Festival but Directors Martin O’Brien and Robbie Proctor pulled out after the festival’s announcement late last week of a new relationship with Petrobras, Brazil’s state-owned oil company with a controversial record of drilling in pristine areas of the Amazon rainforest, including on the territories of uncontacted indigenous peoples.

‘Justicia Now’ is a documentary about ChevronTexaco’s toxic legacy in the Northern Ecuadorian region of the Amazon rainforest – and a courageous group of people called Los Afectados (The Affected Ones) who are seeking justice for the ensuing cancer, sickness and death in the largest environmental class action lawsuit in history.

The Artivist Film Festival announced their selection of Petrobras as a ‘presenting sponsor’ last week, just days after indigenous leaders held a protest outside the Petrobras offices in the Ecuadorian capitol of Quito to protest the oil giant’s plans to drill in Yasuni National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and thought to be the Amazon’s most biodiverse national park and home to uncontacted indigenous peoples. Petrobras also faces allegations of slave labor at another of its petroleum projects.

Despite Mofilms’ appeal to Artivist Board Members and staff to return all funds from Petrobras and formally announce the severing of ties with the company, Artivist management chose to retain a substantial advertising contribution from the company, in spite of their commitment to drop the company’s Presenting Sponsorship status (a claim they have yet to make public).Celebrities such as Daryl Hannah and Q’Orianka Kilcher, and international NGOs such as Amazon Watch pulled their support for the Artivist Film Festival and are supporting the independent screening event of ‘Justicia Now’ at its alternate venue, the Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose Ave (Van Ness Gate) in Hollywood on Saturday, November 10th at 6:30pm.

The screening is free, however donations will be welcomed.O’Brien and others also asked Artivist for a commitment to create environmental and social justice guidelines to screen future potential funders to ensure that the festival’s practice lives up to its stated mission and honor the spirit of the filmmakers it claims to support.

Mofilms won the ‘Environmental Preservation’ award at last year’s Artivist Film Festival for his documentary ‘Freedom Fuels’ and were previously enthusiastic supporters of the Festival.“We are sad to see that the young Artivist Film Festival is falling for the corporate greenwashing of Petrobras by refusing to omit this oil company from their program. This is allowing the company to exploit the moral standing of the film festival and the environmental community they represent,” O’ Brien said.Daryl Hannah and Q’Orianka Kilcher will be available for media interviews before the screening and for the panel discussion with the film’s directors and representatives from Amazon Watch.Of her experience witnessing ChevronTexaco’s legacy in Ecuador, Hannah said: “Everything the communities live on or off is poisoned. There are epidemics of cancer, every type of cancer in children, babies, women and men. It’s heartbreaking and it’s reprehensible.”“I was there. I witnessed the Big Oil crimes these multinational oil companies are committing on human life and the environment! Seeing is believing, and in this day of media and technology, it is our responsibility to shed light on these Issues through our work. ‘Justicia Now’ is doing just that!” said Q’Orianka Kilcher, actress and Amazon Watch Youth Ambassador.

Mofilms’ commitment to advocacy filmmaking has inspired them to utilize cutting edge film distribution techniques, and ‘Justicia Now’ will be available for rapid dissemination via a FREE download which will commence at 11:11AM on November 11th from the website at www.JusticiaNow.org.