Courtesy of Sandy Cioffi and SIFF
By Paula Nechak
Seattle PostGlobe Film Critic
Seattle-based Sandy Cioffi is the dedicated director of the documentary, “Sweet Crude,” which lays bare the plight of an at-risk people in a small corner of the most populous country in Africa—Nigeria’s Niger Delta—where billions of dollars of crude oil flow under their feet. They live in poverty and the environment is decimated by the global fight over the oil roiling beneath the surface.
Cioffi’s name became even more prominent in local—and international—news when, on April 12, 2008, members of the “Sweet Crude” filmmaking crew, who had returned to Nigeria to film more footage, were detained by the Nigerian military Joint Task Force while traveling by boat in the Niger Delta. The director, her producer Tammi Sims and photojournalists Sean Porter and Cliff Worsham, along with Nigerian-American Joel Bisina, were taken into custody and handed over to the Nigerian State Security Services, where they were held for seven days without being charged and without access to legal counsel. They were released Friday, April 18.
Since, Sandy Cioffi, has determinedly finished “Sweet Crude,” and the documentary plays at this year’s Seattle International Film Festival. She optimistically maintains hope for the people of the Niger Delta—and hopes “Sweet Crude” will help raise awareness to their intensely critical situation. She recently gave Seattle PostGlobe some insight into her present state of being.
Seattle PostGlobe: All things considered, how is your current frame of mind?
Sandy Cioffi: Well, I am still relieved to be home, excited to have finished the film and truly concerned for the people in the villages where we filmed the movie.
Ideally, what would you like Sweet Crude to accomplish?
At the risk of sounding like a grandiose lunatic, I would like for the film to help create a call for a third party international peace talk in the Niger Delta. And short of that, I hope that the story impacts people who see it at a fundamental level. I’d like to see it challenge previous assumptions about insurgents and African diplomatic issues.
When you become so invested in another culture, its people and their plight how do you reconcile your own life upon returning home?
Not very easily. It is an ongoing conversation about anthropologists and documentary filmmakers—do you remain “removed” enough to do your job well, or are you “immersed” enough to be accurate and culturally true to your subjects? The balance is enormously difficult to strike. Clearly, coming home is always a stark contrast of privilege, power and resource inequity. It is also just sad to see a place that is beautiful and deeply at risk all at once.
Do you keep in touch with any of the people in the Niger Delta?
Yes and recently that has meant hearing some very devastating news. On May 15th, the Nigerian Military, or JTF, launched an offensive against the very communities where we made “Sweet Crude.” The children have sent text messages and several people of literally begged for help from U.S. Senators.
What can people do to help the devastation in the Niger Delta?
Just knowing about it and paying attention is a great first step. Demand that the mainstream media cover stories that matter in this world. Ask our new administration to deliver solidly on the promise of preventive diplomacy rather than military solutions to complicated problems. There are action steps on www.sweetcrudemovie.com .
Would you like to go on making documentaries or does the idea of a feature sound welcoming?
I am a little torn about that question right now. I think that I am mostly set on a piece that is a documentary. But it is a very lighthearted, with some scheduling predictability and life-affirming subject matter. I need a tiny break to be honest.
Does finishing the film and achieving a screening at SIFF feel like a beginning or ending?
Both. I am proud to screen it here. I am grateful to this city for all of the support over these three years in making the film, and in caring for the Niger Delta. So it is a full circle sense of completion to show it here. But then it is the end of this part of the promise. This is a very difficult film to stop working on. I can hardly imagine actually catching up on sleep and moving on.
Your tenacity and diplomacy are extraordinary and I've mentioned to you before that you should go into politics. Do you every seriously consider the notion?
Thank you. I somewhat seriously consider it. I have always been drawn to Plato’s Republic. I actually believe that art and politics should have a much stronger relationship than is currently the case. We went through a time, culturally, during which many people believed that you had to either have an artistic goal or a political one. I think that’s wrong. In fact, it seems a sign of being a bit lost that we have not been insisting on more art in our politics and vice-versa. For now, I am committed to storytelling as efficacy. I may very well decide down the road to run for office—and film the campaign.
Courtesy of Sandy Cioffi and SIFF
“Sweet Crude” screens at SIFF:
June 3rd, 7:00 PM, Egyptian
June 7th, 1:30 PM, Kirkland Performance Center
June 13th, 1:30 PM, Egyptian
