INTERVIEW-German film questions wisdom of mass privatisation
16 May 2007 14:53:19 GMT Source: Reuters
By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN, May 16 (Reuters) - A German filmmaker whose latest work takes a critical look at the impact of privatisations on ordinary people on four continents says the selling off of state holdings has become an "unchallenged ideology". Florian Opitz's "The Big Sellout" about how privatisation has had a detrimental impact on rail, healthcare, power and other public services, opens in German cinemas on Thursday after festival screenings in Toronto, Chicago, Berlin and Hong Kong. The hard-hitting documentary, which features lengthy interviews with former World Bank chief economist Joseph Stiglitz, will also be released soon in the United States, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland, Opitz said on Wednesday. "What really bothered me before starting this was that everyone said you can't do anything about the spread of privatisation even though it affects so many people in such a fundamental way," he said in an interview with Reuters. "If people are informed about the potential impact of privatisation on healthcare, railways, power suppliers and still want it, that's their choice. But they're usually left in the dark. My aim was to show privatisation's impact on people." While insisting he is anything but a fan of U.S. filmmaker Michael Moore and his confrontational approach, Opitz's English-language film "Der Grosse Ausverkauf" -- as it's titled in German -- is nevertheless a gripping yarn of a similar style. A British train driver named Simon says he once worked for the most efficient railway system in Europe, but since being privatised it has become run-down and dangerous. "Privatisation has become such an unchallenged ideology," said Opitz, who spent 4-1/2 years on a film which has financial backing from German public television. "It is not a law of nature. Too many people shrug and say 'What can you do?'" In another segment of the four-part story, a poor mother in the Philippines struggles to raise money for the dialysis her son needs and runs into hospital staff who tell her she should just accept that she cannot afford it and let him die. A third vignette is about a South African activist and his "guerrilla electricians" who risk their lives helping families illegally re-connect their power after a privatised electric company switched it off over unpaid bills. The fourth story is about violent protests in Bolivia in 2000 that accompanied -- and thwarted -- attempts by the local congress to impose charges for water they had received free. "Sell now, pay later -- our world is being privatised," said Opitz, 34. "This looks behind the abstract idea of privatising basic public services. Who will have access to water, energy, public transport and healthcare? Only those who can afford it."
