The archival documentary Wto/99 functions both as historical document and prophecy of the future, chronicling the four days in 1999 when anti-globalization activists from multiple movements—labor unions, student groups, teamsters, anarchists, nonprofit organizations like Global Exchange and the Rainforest Action Network—took to downtown Seattle to protest the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference. While the King County Sheriff’s Office and Seattle Police Department initially took a hands-off approach to supervising the peaceful protests, they quickly adopted a more aggressive tack after protestors successfully blocked Wto delegates from reaching the convention center on the first day of the conference. Tear gas, pepper […]

The post Trade Wars: Ian Bell on Wto/99 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.