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| No Fracking Northern Ireland showing Unearthed Posted: 21 Oct 2014 01:09 AM PDT
Unearthed, "a rare glimpse into the murky waters surrounding the shale gas industry", has its the Northern Ireland premiere this week followed by Q+A with its director Jolynn Minnaar. The award-winning independent South African documentary Unearthed investigates fracking in the United States – the technology's place of origin – in order to understand what this new technology could mean for the Karoo and other countries who are considering its implementation. Campaingers ‘No Fracking Northern Ireland‘ are thrilled to be able to welcome Jolynn Minnaar to Northern Ireland. Her experience learning of this industry before it arrives in her home is a mirror of our own situation. We are looking forward to both seeing the film and having the chance to hear first hand of her experiences. All are welcome to attend the screening. Unearthed, an independent South African feature documentary, investigates fracking in the United States – the technology's place of origin – in order to understand what this new method of gas extraction could mean for the semi-arid Karoo and other countries who are considering its implementation. Unearthed’s director, Jolynn Minnaar, has been awarded Woman of the Year: Change Agent title by Glamour Magazine. She was acknowledged for her work in using film and camera to tell stories that matter in her country. A young South African journalist, Jolynn Minnaar, stumbles across fracking when companies announce plans to drill in the Karoo, a poor, rural semi-arid area where her parents still farm. Here, many worry about threats to the scarce water supplies but Jolynn is reassured by Shell that fracking has never been linked to contamination. She remains optimistic about what gas drilling could do to alleviate poverty and ease the energy crisis. When about to abandon her sideline investigation, she receives a phone call from Pennsylvania: a young man reveals that Shell has been drilling on a neighboring farm and has left their property contaminated. Jolynn grabs her camera and leaves for the United States, the home of the new fracking technology, in search of answers. Upon arriving, her lead is nowhere to be found: his home is abandoned and industry trucks are parked all over his property. Desperate for answers, she continues tracing the gas industry through North America. She finds communities suffering with contaminated water and air, workers with chemical exposure and turncoat scientists presenting damning evidence contrary to the promised made by glitzy oil and gas commercials. Her devastating discovery is learning that her lead is lost along with countless impacted families who have become invisible statistics after being forced into gag orders – a tactic which allows the industry to keep its record clean. Bearing the weight of her findings, Jolynn returns home. With her government and many others about to authorise gas drilling, she is far from the happy-go-lucky girl from before. Desperate to set the record straight, she sits down and tells her story. Jolynn Minnaar is a young South African director making waves with her debut feature documentary, Unearthed, that investigates whether or not South Africa should pursue fracking in the semi-arid area known as the Karoo – the area where she grew up. Dubbed the 'next generation Erin Brokovich', Jolynn regularly shares her firsthand knowledge across print, radio and television platforms while she visits the isolated, rural Karoo communities to inform them about the plans for shale gas extraction beneath their feet. Her work on Unearthed has helped establish alliances between grassroots organisations from all corners of the globe and has allowed an accessible platform for conversation on the pressing issues of our time. She graduated with a distinction from UCT with a BA Film, Media and Screen Production. She followed this with a specialisation in cinematography and editing at AFDA. Committed to stories that matter, she works in the South African film industry as a director, cinematographer and photographer. During the film's production over the past two years, she has contributed to many community meetings across the Karoo. And she has successfully brought people together across socioeconomic and racial divide to not only speak about fracking but to remind community members about the value in setting differences aside and working together on a common goal. No Fracking Northern Ireland is having a screening of Unearthed and will welcome Jolynn Minnaar to Belfast on 25 October and Fermanagh on 26 October. For details of the events, click here. |
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