The Pipeline Next Door

The oil pipeline that is being laid between the Caspian and Mediterranean Seas is of great geopolitical interest. It will be 1,110 miles long, 155 of which will run through Georgia, along Sakiré, a poor village with muddy roads and houses that the paint is flaking off of. Without interviews or voiceover, as an unnoticed bystander, director Nino Kirtadze films the villagers who, especially in the street, vehemently discuss this unexpected clash with world politics: the health risks, the governmental corruption, who actually owns the land, the possibility of an attack by Bin Laden and especially the level of financial compensation from BP, the oil company responsible for the pipeline. The filmmakers contrast the quiet valley and its village with noisy images of the construction of the advancing pipeline. Emotions get roused more and more: the elected village leader storms out of a chaotic meeting, where the resistance is led by the self-confident and self-appointed Leila. An equally chaotic court case against BP is lost, but the oil company grows tense, too: the filmmakers are in the car with the general manager of BP in Georgia and attend talks about the villagers' objections. In the end, the general manager decides to pay a personal visit to the village.