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Darwin's Nightmare
- Director: Hubert Sauper
- Writer: Hubert Sauper
- Producer: Barbara Albert; Martin Gschlacht
CGiii Comment
The damage one man can do with a bucket of fish - the damage a god-fearing pastor can do by not advocating the use of condoms (because prostitution and homosexuality are sins) - the damage one organisation can do by saying that everything is tickety-boo when it, most clearly, is not.
The damage from lawlessness, the damage from no education, the damage from a polystyrene fish packaging - made into a glue, to be sniffed by children who fight each other for food.
The damage from our ignorance and greed.
This is not an exercise in damage control - without commentary, this insightful film simply shows you how it is - and, it is sobering.
Poor, poor Africa.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
The larger scope of the story explores the gun trade to Africa that takes place under the covers -- Russian pilots fly guns into Africa, then fly fish back out to Europe. The hazards and consequences of this trade are explored, including the pan-African violence propagated by constant flow of weapons into the continent. If it is a "survival of the fittest" world, as Darwin concluded, then the capitalist interests that fund the gun runners are climbing the evolutionary ladder on the backs of the Africans in this stark Darwinian example. Much like the foreseeable extinction of the Lake Victoria perch, and death of Lake Victoria itself, the Africans are in grave jeopardy, even as they survive in the only ways they know how.
Cast & Characters
Elizabeth 'Eliza' Maganga Nsese as Herself - Pilots' girlfriend, singer;
Raphael Tukiko Wagara as Himself - Night guard;
Dimond Remtulia as Himself - Fish factory owner;
Marcus Nyoni as Himself - Airport police officer;
Sergey Samarets as Himself - Ilyushin-76 captain;
Jonathan Nathanael as Himself - Young painter;
Msafiri 'Safiri' Habat as Himself - One-legged street boy;
Dima Rogonov as Himself - Singing pilot;
Vladimir Tarasenko as Himself - Air navigator;
Jura Biriuchev as Himself - Freight supervisor;
Stanislav Ivanchenko as Himself - Radio engineer;
Jakob Maiseli as Himself - Fish-quality controller;
Lalit Malhotra as Himself - Simba Plastics salesman;
Shadard Mkono as Himself - Fishing camp leader;
Cleopa Kaijage as Himself - Reverend