WTO/99

Seattle, November 1999. A meeting of the newly established World Trade Organization (WTO) is approaching. Activists from both the left and the right immediately sense what is at stake. Global capitalism – destroying the Earth, deepening inequality, disregarding workers’ rights, and always placing profits above people – is attempting to lock the system in place, leaving no alternative. The streets of Seattle fill with more than 40,000 protesters. Political forces from across the spectrum converge on the city, united by the belief that another world is possible and that globalization is not the answer to modern challenges but a force leading toward environmental and social collapse. The entire political spectrum is present – leftists, right-wingers, Democrats, Republicans, environmentalists, anarchists, and conservatives. What unites them is opposition to elites deciding our fate behind closed doors. Clashes with police and the blockade of the city and the convention center last four days. The protesters succeed in disrupting the events and placing their – seen from today’s perspective, justified – demands on the agenda. Every one of their dark predictions has come true. Are there still people today capable of protesting with such passion and hope? This emotionally charged and tension-filled film was created from over 1,000 hours of archival material – conference recordings, television news, police cameras, and footage shot by protesters themselves. The immense effort resulted in a powerful portrait of dreamers fighting heartless corporations in the name of the Earth and ordinary people. It is both an inspiration and a warning: real change requires building a political movement, not just staging protests.