Hot Docs: A Wild Idea

Hot Docs highlights interesting new documentaries we've recently added to our collection.

A Wild Idea (DVD 10631) covers one of the most intriguing economic and environmental deals in recent memory: international interests will pay Ecuador not to tap the massive oil reserves near the Amazon River. It's a radical idea that could save a region, have enormous environmental impact, and set a precedent for the future of international environmental collaboration – should Ecuador accept the deal.

Official description from the film's website:

The film takes the viewer to the Yasuní National Park, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, capturing the rain forest’s stunning biodiversity. It also focuses in the millions of barrels of oil lying beneath the part of the park known as the ITT Block.

Exploiting the ITT seemed to be the logical step Ecuador had to take, but political changes have transformed the way the country views oil development. Through testimony representing different perspectives and rich archival video, A Wild Idea shows how the seemingly utopian ideal of keeping valuable oil underground turned into an official proposal.

As the film progresses, the complex initiative becomes easy to understand. The audience sees what’s at stake if the proposal is not accepted. And the political twists and turns that made it possible and that could also threaten the success of this revolutionary idea.