Darwin's Nightmare

Darwin’s Nightmare is another excellent film from the Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival On Tour.

This is a trip to Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa and the source of the River Nile. In the 1960s, a type of fish called the Nile perch was introduced into the lake. Since then, the fishing industry has grown and grown. Jumbo jets arrive daily to whisk the fish away to Europe for consumption. The bosses of the fish processing companies describe how the area is booming, with employment and trade bringing prosperity to the people.

The makers of Darwin’s Nightmare are not shy. They bravely ask three very important questions: Why are there Africans starving in the immediate vicinity of Lake Victoria? What is happening to the lake’s ecosystem now that the Nile perch has come to dominate? And what cargo is being unloaded from the supposedly empty planes when they arrive?

Now you can actually see the faces of some of the people who are delivering weapons into Africa. Now you can hear what those people have to say.

This is one powerful film. It goes straight to the heart of what is happening in Africa today.