The Grab

dir. Gabriela Cowperthwaite 2022 USA 105 min.
2022 – Toronto IFF, 2022 – San Diego FF: The Best Documentary Film
”The Grab” tells the story of the hidden rivalry between great powers for control over the most crucial resources of our planet: arable land and water

”The Grab” tells the story of a seven-year research project by Nate Halverson of The Center for Investigative Reporting, beginning with the 2014 sale of Smithfield Foods to a Chinese company for $4.7 billion, the largest deal of its kind. Why did the founder of Blackwater shift his focus to facilitating land acquisitions in Africa? Why was Russia recruiting American cowboys to take agricultural jobs in a part of the country that was, until recently, too cold to sustain farmland? 

PDF materials

  • Pickup The Grab – From curiosity to creativity – lesson plan "From a dried-up well in Arizona to displacement in Zambia"


duration:
105 min
country / year of production:
USA / 2022
director:
Gabriela Cowperthwaite
cinematography:
Jonathan Ingalls
production:
Gabriela Cowperthwaite, Amanda Pike, Nikole Rocklin, Nathan Halverson / Impact Partners, Center for Investigative Reporting Studios
editor:
Davis Coombe
selected festivals and awards:
2022 – Toronto IFF, 2022 – San Diego FF: The Best Documentary Film
tags:
politics ecology Russia Africa USA