Sandrains @ PONG-Pesca

No dia 26 de Setembro, publicámos um artigo sobre o documentário  Sandgrains (ver aqui). Quando tomou conhecimento, a equipa de produção contactou-nos, no sentido de colaborarmos na divulgação. De imediato respondemos afirmativamente, pois o documentário, filmado em Cabo Verde, um país que por diversos motivos nos é muito próximo, foca uma das vertentes mais relevantes da Política Comum das Pescas – a sua dimensão externa. Para além disso, o seu inovador formato de produção apela naturalmente à plataforma e às organizações que a compõem.

Damos hoje início, com a publicação deste artigo da autoria do Colectivo Matchbox Media, a uma colaboração que esperamos que venha a culminar com a exibição do documentário em Portugal, durante o ano de 2012.

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On the 26th of September 2011, we published an article about the documentary Sandgrains (link). In response, the production team contacted us to know if we would be interested in promoting the documentary. We immediatly said yes, for Sandgrains, filmed in Cabo-Verde, a country that for several reasons is very close to us, focuses on one of the most relevant issues of the Common Fisheries Policy – it’s external dimension. Furthermore, it’s innovative production format is naturally appealing to PONG-Pesca and the organizations that comprise it.

Today, with the publication of the following article by the Matchbox Media Collective, we initiate a collaboration that hopefully will culminate with the screening of the documentary here in Portugal, during 2012.

Sandgrains is a crowdfunded documentary produced by Matchbox Media Collective.

Awareness is growing of the damage we are doing to our seas through pollution and over-exploitation. Not only is marine wildlife threatened; small communities around the globe that rely on the sea for survival are being pushed to the brink by short-sighted and chronically inefficient fisheries management practices.

Sandgrains tells the story of the coastal community of Ribeira da Barca in Cape Verde as it struggles to survive in the face of unsustainable and unfair EU fishing policy. Overfishing by European fleets has led to a collapse in fish, thereby denying Cape Verdeans access to a natural resource that has supported them for hundreds of years. Without fish to provide food and income, the community is forced to sell the sand from their beaches, stripping it to the bone and leaving a scarred landscape of mudflats and stones. Without the sand as a barrier, coastlines are crumbling into the sea, and taking houses and roads with it. For the people of Ribeira da Barca, a way of life is disappearing, and the causes lie many hundreds of miles away, in the choices made by people they will never meet.

Sandgrains is a new kind of documentary, produced collectively by people who want to work together to bring about meaningful change. It is as much a campaign as a film: Matchbox is forming a coalition of NGOs to increase awareness of the plight of Cape Verde’s coastal communities and to push for reform of EU fishing policy. The production calls for a review of all aspects of the Common Fisheries Policy and propose a number of specific changes, including:

- a uniform set of rules for how EU fleets fish abroad

- a move to regional management of fisheries

- an EU fisheries policy that is led by scientists, not politicians or lobby groups

- a smarter EU fisheries policy that does not expose local fishing communities to unfair competition from larger European fleets

As awareness grows of the harm caused by current methods of industrial fishing, so does public support for reform. Sandgrains aims to reinforce this by giving voice to the people whose lives are affected by irresponsible fishing practices. Matchbox Media believes in the power of collective action; by joining together behind a common cause, we can re-imagine the way we live together and the legacy that we leave for others.

Sandgrains is creating an open forum in which ideas can be exchanged and discussed, and individuals can contribute in whatever way they are able – whether technically, financially, or simply by spreading word to their friends and family.

By reaching out to like-minded people, Sandgrains is building a network of contributors that has no formal hierarchies or structures. From this network will come a new kind of audience – one of advocates rather than spectators, who are engaged with the project and who have helped to shape it. The team of Matchbox wants the film to be a testament to what can be achieved through collective action.

This documentary can only be made with you support!

Join the campaign and become a producer of Sandgrains at www.sandgrains.matchboxmedia.org

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