| Corporations, movies, and politics | |
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The first thing we had to ask is why would a big business like the Co-Op get involved in a sensitive political situation? On this they told us that "It potentially comes as a surprise to most people, but the Co-Operative is probably different to most other businesses as we do have a set of principles and values that underpin what we do and we've been campaigning on Burma for ten years. Every part of the Co-Operative Group has been campaigning on Burma as our lead human rights issue so we've done lots of government lobbying and tried to keep awareness up, and then we got wind of this film and we saw it thought that we had a moral duty to get this aired in the UK. So we put some money and support behind it to get people to see this film because it's a difficult subject and most people turn off for whatever reason, but this film is almost a breakthrough on how to engage with people on this big issue in a way that they relate to. It's a brilliant film, it's almost a thriller the way it's structured, and as you're watching it you have to remind yourself that these are real people. Every little bit of help is needed to keep this in the spotlight because it drops out so easily." The crossover between business and politics is a tricky one, and not one that should be undertaken lightly. In a time when both international intervention and the merits of corporate outlay on corporate social responsibility (often portrayed as an altruistic PR exercise) are under scrutiny it seems strange to diversify into a whole new business area, as well as offering political support through it's business action. So why go to so much trouble for this film?  We're told: "For us Burma is a special case. As an example: when it comes to human rights our starting point is always that it's better to trade with people in countries rather than boycott because that's how you get progress. But Burma is one of few areas where the Democratic movement of Burma has actually called for sanctions, because the organisation that represents the people of Burma has said 'you're not helping with trade, tourism isn't helping, it only helps the regime', (it has a some - though not perfect - parallels with South Africa), so because of that we've taken a unique position on Burma which is a business-wide ban on trade to Burma. Effectively our general view is that if you don't trade with the farmers and the businesses they are being hit twice. Not only are they under oppression but they have no access to anything to improve their lot. So we start from the assumption that trade should be a force for good, and for progress, except in special circumstances. For us that's Burma, and the illegal settlements in Palestine."It's admirable to see dedication to a political cause, and what sounds like genuine thought going into the nuances of Co-Operatives influences as an international business. But questions remain on how far Co-Op will go to help, and whether this will be an ongoing policy. They did have a little something to say on both issues. When discussing equipment issues for the VJs we were told: "Another problem they've got is the equipment is old and it's clunky and the batteries die too quickly. So we're going to try and get hold of the latest equipment and get it over to them. It makes a small difference. We've drawn up a wish list and we'll see what our electricals business can do." But how far can this policy go? "Well there's not going to be a whole new distribution business but there's definitely a new philosophy in how we do things. We have an outreach programme and this is central to that. We've experimented a little bit by supporting An Inconvenient Truth and Slumdog Millionaire, but this is the first time we've put some serious commitment to behind a project. But if there are more films of this quality and on this relevant an issue then you could be seeing a lot more of the Co-Operative." It's difficult to know how to react to such extensive involvement both in filmmaking and in politics, but whether you consider it unforgivable meddling beyond the boundaries of responsibility for such and organisation, or an innovative response to an important issue, it's certainly got to be seen as an interesting development in film distribution. On thing we're praying for here at MV though is that this interest stays at arms length. Support for great films like Burma VJ is one thing, moving into the production side starts to tread on dangerous ground.
Follow these links to: read our interview with Anders Østergaard, or our review of Burma VJ.
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We've already raved about the quality and importance of innovative documentary
