Is this our last chance?
Grit

Salt Ankara

December 19, 2019 20.00

Grit 2018 <i>Grit</i> (2018) filminden bir kare ©Sasha Friedlander, Cynthia Wade
Still from Grit (2018) ©Sasha Friedlander, Cynthia Wade
Goethe-Institut Ankara

Grit (2018)
Directors: Sasha Friedlander, Cynthia Wade
80 minutes
Indonesian; Turkish and English subtitles

Since 2006, a debate has been continuing on whether the major mud volcano eruption in Indonesia’s East Java province was triggered by an earthquake or an accident made by the multinational company that was drilling for natural gas in the area. Sixteen villages were wiped away; nearly 60,000 people have been displaced; dozens of factories, schools, and mosques are submerged 60 feet under a moonscape of cracked mud.

Still waiting for restitution, the survivors have turned the disaster site into a popular tourist destination. A widowed mother, Harwati has reinvented herself as an unofficial mudflow tour guide. The vast lunar landscape is littered with bizarre activities: fashion photographers take photos of models in ball gowns; vendors sell selfie sticks, DVDs and meatballs; protesters smear mud over their bodies in stubborn acts of resistance.

Harwati’s daughter Dian, who was 6 years old when the incident happened, is determined to rise out of the muddy life. Along with her mother and many neighbors, she constantly fights for justice. The 2018 documentary Grit bears witness to her transformation into a politically active teenager as she questions the role of the corporate power in one of the biggest environmental disasters in recent history.

*According to the United Nations Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019 published last August: …the most vulnerable and marginalized people in these countries face higher risks of being affected by disasters, thus widening the inequality gaps. This leads to a vicious cycle of poverty, inequality and disasters.

The public screening is free. Reservations are not accepted. For further information: salt.ankara@saltonline.org


In accordance with Article 7 of Law No. 5224 amended on 18.01.2019,
films that have not been assessed and classified by the General Directorate of Cinema, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Republic of Turkey, can only be screened under the classification of 18+ at festivals, special screenings or similar culture and arts events.

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