Local Slough resident talks about his life as an Ethiopian Coffee farmer at screening of 'Black Gold'
A special Slough screening of the ‘Black Gold’ will be accompanied by a Question and Answer session by a local man who used to work as a coffee farmer in Ethiopia. Dereje Gelata lives in Slough with his family and provides housing support for young unaccompanied refugees and asylum seekers. However when he was living in Ethiopia where he was born he ran a coffee farm, very much similar to the one described in the film ‘Black Gold’
Black Gold set in Ethiopia, the birth place of coffee follows the life of one coffee farmer, Tadesse Mesekela on his mission to get a fair price for his coffee. Multinational coffee companies dominate an industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil. The film tracks the exploitation of coffee farmers by multinational companies while Tadesse travels to world to find a buyer who is willing to pay a fair price for the highest quality coffee beans.
The Slough screening will be followed by a Question and Answer session with Dereje. There will also be free fair trade products to sample at the evening.
This screenings is part of the Same Difference Film Festival which runs from April 2nd to April 14th 2008. This year the festival will run over two weeks giving people a greater chance to catch up with more of the latest cutting edge films. The festival will showcase a range of thought provoking films on the theme of community, conflict and peace.
“This really is the most exciting programme we have had to date. The programme includes a range of thought provoking, challenging and heart warming films all aimed at bringing people together.” (Mandeep Kaur Sira, Aik Saath)
The festivals main aim is to raise awareness and bring the community of Slough closer together to share interests and increase understanding. The festival is organised by Aik Saath and Slough Co-operative Film Society. The festival is funded by The Co-operative Membership and Slough Social Fund.