A synopsis of the film:
Oil & Water is the story of two boys coming of age as they confront one of the world’s worst toxic disasters. Hugo Lucitante and David Poritz ’12 were born on opposite ends of the oil pipeline. Hugo comes to America to fight for the survival of his Cofan tribe in the Ecuadorian Amazon, while David goes to Ecuador to launch the world’s first company to certify oil as “fair trade.” Together they explore what could be a more just future, not just for the Cofan, but for the marginalized people of oil-rich nations everywhere. Shot over the span of six years, Oil & Water was produced and directed by Laurel Spellman Smith and Francine Strickwerda for PBS.
Francine Strickwerda (Director/Producer/Writer)
Francine Strickwerda is an award-winning director, writer and producer of documentary films and Web sites. She co-directed the feature film Oil & Water for PBS, and the women’s health documentary Busting Out, which aired on Showtime. Her work has been funded by the MacArthur Foundation and the prestigious Independent Television Service (ITVS). She produced and executive edited national PBS Web sites including Don’t Buy It, Videogame Revolution, and Exploring Space, and was a senior producer at HealthTalk.com. She currently runs Hullabaloo, a Seattle production company with her husband, and she has created videos for clients including the United Nations, Fortune 500 companies, and the Seattle Fire Department. Francine began her career as a reporter for newspapers in Washington and Idaho. She studied journalism at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University.
Laurel Spellman Smith (Director/Producer/Writer)
Laurel Spellman Smith is a two-time regional Emmy Award-winning producer of national and local programs for PBS, including The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and the documentary Faith & Fear: The Children of Krishna. She became an independent producer in 2001. In addition to Oil & Water, she co-directed and produced the women’s health documentary Busting Out, which aired on Showtime, and the Iraq War documentary The Corporal’s Diary, seen on PBS stations, Al Jazeera English, and Link TV. She is also a juror for the News and Documentary Emmy Awards. Laurel grew up in Los Angeles and Kauai; she now lives in Seattle. She graduated from The Evergreen State College, where she studied film and cultural anthropology. She has traveled to over 100 countries.
David Poritz (Featured in Oil & Water)
David Poritz ’12 was a sixth-grader when he learned of the oil disaster in Ecaudor and started Esperanza International, Inc.—a humanitarian project that sent shoes, education materials, and medical supplies to impoverished areas of Ecuador. He spent a portion of his youth in the Amazon. In 2009, while still in college, David launched Gaia Certification, Ltd. (later renamed Equitable Origin)—the world’s first international, environmental certification system for oil exploration and production. In addition to his work as the President of Equitable Origin, David recently attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. At Brown, David concentrated in anthropology and Latin American and Caribbean studies.
Hugo Lucitante (Featured in Oil & Water)
When Hugo Lucitante was ten years old, his tribe sent him to America for an education in hopes that he would return to lead his tribe towards a better future. After receiving his high school diploma, he returned to the Amazon, where he’s learning to shoulder the responsibilities of a Cofan tribal leader. Hugo faces the challenge of helping his tribe prevent oil prospectors from pushing deeper into the rainforest and destroying the land where his village is located. While attending high school in America, Hugo met Sadie, a young Lebanese-American woman. The two of them were married shortly after they graduated and worked multiple jobs while going to college in the U.S. Hugo and Sadie have spent time in both the Ecuadorian jungle and North America.
About First Readings
First Readings is Brown’s summer educational project for all new students. Now in its eighth year, the program provides first-year and transfer students with a common intellectual experience that introduces them to the University and to the pleasures and rigors of undergraduate academic life. The program is sponsored by the Dean of the College and Brown Alumni Association. Students receive their assignment over the summer and write letters to their advisors on an aspect of it that they find particularly compelling, difficult, or curious. In this way, they begin a dialogue with their first-year advisors about their academic interests and their expectations for life at Brown. During Orientation, students meet in small groups for a First Readings Seminar, led by a member of the faculty or an upper-level administrator. These seminars afford students the chance to meet their peers and to begin conversations based upon their shared readings.