Synopsis
For decades, Colombia has ranked first among countries in the number of social leaders assassinated. From 2002 to 2009, more than 470 leaders were killed by paramilitary militias in the pay of companies ready to do anything to crush the unions. Among these unscrupulous corporate brands were bottling plants of Coca-Cola company products. These unpunished crimes spur U.S. activists Dan Kovalik, Terry Collingsworth and Ray Rogers into an ambitious crusade against the soft drink giant, accusing them of turning a blind eye.
A word from Tënk
I’d like to buy the world a home
And furnish it with love
Grow apple trees and honey bees
And snow white turtle doves
(Chorus)
I'd like to teach the world to sing
In perfect harmony
I'd like to buy the world a Coke
And keep it company
That's the real thing
In 1971, Coca-Cola made television history with Hilltop, the peace-and-love jingle that promoted the famous fizzy drink as a catalyst for world peace, abolishing borders so that we could finally live in harmony, hand in hand… with a bottle of Coke between our lips. Revisiting this television archive alongside Gutierrez and Garcia's documentary reveals an abysmal irony. Coca-Cola is without doubt the brand that most perfectly represents America's shortcomings: unbridled capitalism, hyper-consumption, mass advertising… A sugar-coated monster whose only salvation is profit.
The Coca-Cola Case is a committed - and deeply engaging - documentary that takes us behind the scenes of the actions taken in the mid-2000s against the multinational's most despicable abuses abroad. We follow the relentless work of lawyers Dan Kovalik and Terry Collingsworth to bring Coca-Cola to justice for the murders of union leaders in Colombia, denouncing in the process the collusion, lies, arrogance and eternal impunity that Coca-Cola seems to enjoy outside the United States. The result is an outrageous, enlightening and sensitive portrait of this David and Goliath-esque struggle, as well as a stirring tribute to the people who fought - at times with their lives - for the right to unionize.
Jason Burnham
Tënk editorial manager
