Black Gold

I've got 7:30 in my diary as the start time for the showing of Black Gold, so I arrive at the Playhouse at 7:15 - only to realise that the showing isn't till 7:45. Still, all the more time to sip a diet cola and to try the samples of fairtrade orange juice and chocolate on show in the Playhouse bar area.

It's a very interesting film, following the story of a coffee co-operative in Ethiopia, home of some of the best coffee in the world - and how their negotiator Tadesse Meskela travels the world to try to find buyers prepared to pay a fair price for his growers' coffee. It's difficult; the big players such as Kraft, Nestlé, Proctor & Gamble and Sara Lee are continuing to push down the price paid to the growers - many of whom are resorting to clear swathes of their coffee groves to make way for 'chat', the local narcotic, which commands a better price than coffee. It's about keeping the wolf from the door after all, and starvation is never far away.

The film is followed by a chance to ask questions of the two directors of the film, Nick and Marc Francis, who spent two and a half years making the film and have now spent another eighteen months travelling round the world promoting it at events like this. Nick and Marc tell us that an education pack for use with the film will shortly be uploaded onto the film's website for use by schools.

It's a fascinating and thought-provoking evening.