What’s the new way governments can control its populations? By controlling their food.
Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, whose documentary “Blackfish” exposed the animal cruelty at SeaWorld, follows journalist Nathan Halverson as he uncovers the colonization of food and water by the wealthiest nations. “The Grab” is billed as a global thriller combining hard-hitting journalism from The Center for Investigative Reporting with compelling character-driven storytelling spanning across the globe. It is one of Participant Media’s final films.
Per its synopsis, quietly and seemingly out of sight, governments, private investors, and mercenaries are working to seize food and water resources at the expense of entire populations. These groups are establishing themselves as the new Opec, where the future world powers will be those who control not oil, but food. And it’s all beginning to bubble to the surface in real time. Global food prices have hit an all-time high, threatening chaos and violence.
Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, whose documentary “Blackfish” exposed the animal cruelty at SeaWorld, follows journalist Nathan Halverson as he uncovers the colonization of food and water by the wealthiest nations. “The Grab” is billed as a global thriller combining hard-hitting journalism from The Center for Investigative Reporting with compelling character-driven storytelling spanning across the globe. It is one of Participant Media’s final films.
Per its synopsis, quietly and seemingly out of sight, governments, private investors, and mercenaries are working to seize food and water resources at the expense of entire populations. These groups are establishing themselves as the new Opec, where the future world powers will be those who control not oil, but food. And it’s all beginning to bubble to the surface in real time. Global food prices have hit an all-time high, threatening chaos and violence.
- 5/8/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Magnolia Pictures and Participant have acquired North American rights to The Grab, Blackfish director Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s follow-up about an investigative journalist’s efforts to uncover the powers responsible for land grabs to control food and water resources.
The film premiered at TIFF last year and Magnolia and Participant will release theatrically and on demand on June 14.
The Grab is produced by Center for Investigative Reporting Studios & Rocklin|Faust, Nathan Halverson, Amanda Pike, Blye Pagon Faust, Nicole Rocklin, and Cowperthwaite, and presented by Impact Partners.
Executive producers are Dan Cogan, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Jenny Raskin, Maiken Baird, Nina and David Fialkow,...
The film premiered at TIFF last year and Magnolia and Participant will release theatrically and on demand on June 14.
The Grab is produced by Center for Investigative Reporting Studios & Rocklin|Faust, Nathan Halverson, Amanda Pike, Blye Pagon Faust, Nicole Rocklin, and Cowperthwaite, and presented by Impact Partners.
Executive producers are Dan Cogan, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Jenny Raskin, Maiken Baird, Nina and David Fialkow,...
- 3/6/2024
- ScreenDaily
Magnolia Pictures and Participant have partnered to jointly acquire North American rights to “The Grab,” a new documentary from “Blackfish” director Gabriela Cowperthwaite.
The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, follows journalists from The Center for Investigative Reporting as they work high-profile sources and utilize a cache of secret data to uncover the money and influence being used by countries, corporations and members of the uber-elite to control the planet’s most vital resources. Participant and Magnolia are positioning the film as a “high-stakes global thriller,” one that takes viewers from Arizona to Zambia as the moviemakers examine the food and water scarcity that’s resulting from this little-known power grab.
“We’re thrilled to reunite with our good friends at Participant and the great Gabriela Cowperthwaite who has, yet again, brought to light a nail biting, explosive, and essential story,” said Magnolia Pictures co-ceo’s Eamonn Bowles and Dori Begley.
The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, follows journalists from The Center for Investigative Reporting as they work high-profile sources and utilize a cache of secret data to uncover the money and influence being used by countries, corporations and members of the uber-elite to control the planet’s most vital resources. Participant and Magnolia are positioning the film as a “high-stakes global thriller,” one that takes viewers from Arizona to Zambia as the moviemakers examine the food and water scarcity that’s resulting from this little-known power grab.
“We’re thrilled to reunite with our good friends at Participant and the great Gabriela Cowperthwaite who has, yet again, brought to light a nail biting, explosive, and essential story,” said Magnolia Pictures co-ceo’s Eamonn Bowles and Dori Begley.
- 3/6/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
In 2013, Gabriela Cowperthwaite released her last documentary feature, Blackfish, about the captivity of Orcas, especially at SeaWorld. The film directly impacted the attendance and revenue of the theme park. Eventually, SeaWorld and its former CEO James Atchison had to pay more than 5 million to settle federal charges that they covered up the negative impact of the documentary.
Nearly a decade later, after dabbling in narrative with features like 2017’s Megan Leavey and 2019’s Our Friend, Cowperthwaite has returned to non-fiction with The Grab, which had its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. The title, which is up for sale via WME, takes a look at the geopolitical forces behind global land and water rights, and the race for the world’s last farmable land. For The Grab, the filmmakers teamed with The Center for Investigative Reporting, spending years diving into the money...
In 2013, Gabriela Cowperthwaite released her last documentary feature, Blackfish, about the captivity of Orcas, especially at SeaWorld. The film directly impacted the attendance and revenue of the theme park. Eventually, SeaWorld and its former CEO James Atchison had to pay more than 5 million to settle federal charges that they covered up the negative impact of the documentary.
Nearly a decade later, after dabbling in narrative with features like 2017’s Megan Leavey and 2019’s Our Friend, Cowperthwaite has returned to non-fiction with The Grab, which had its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. The title, which is up for sale via WME, takes a look at the geopolitical forces behind global land and water rights, and the race for the world’s last farmable land. For The Grab, the filmmakers teamed with The Center for Investigative Reporting, spending years diving into the money...
- 9/15/2022
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s “The Grab” — following up both her groundbreaking documentary “Blackfish,” which revealed how SeaWorld’s use of captive orcas led to unnecessary human deaths and animal cruelty, and her more forgettable narrative drama “Our Friend” — takes an overwhelming interest in journalist Nathan Halverson’s tenacious pursuit of the impenetrable truth behind the colonization of our world’s most precious natural resource, water, by its wealthiest nations.
When Halverson began investigating the purchase of the world’s largest pork producer, Smithfield Foods, by Shuanghui International Holdings, a company backed by China’s government, he couldn’t have envisioned how this 2014 merger of pig sales would lead to an eight-year journey through top secret emails, unlikely American farmlands, and the distant shores of Zambia. With an earth-shattering story like this, you’d expect sharp twists and unpredictable turns, and factual incongruities that pull us deeper into this narrative’s multiple rabbit holes.
When Halverson began investigating the purchase of the world’s largest pork producer, Smithfield Foods, by Shuanghui International Holdings, a company backed by China’s government, he couldn’t have envisioned how this 2014 merger of pig sales would lead to an eight-year journey through top secret emails, unlikely American farmlands, and the distant shores of Zambia. With an earth-shattering story like this, you’d expect sharp twists and unpredictable turns, and factual incongruities that pull us deeper into this narrative’s multiple rabbit holes.
- 9/9/2022
- by Robert Daniels
- Indiewire
You’ve heard the expression, “There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy.” Well, “The Grab” makes the case that society had best brace itself for disorder, since certain parties are gobbling up the world’s food and water resources while the rest of us are distracted by other things. Produced in association with the Center for Investigative Reporting, “Blackfish” director Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s astonishing, eye-opening doc hits us with the idea that the next world war won’t be fought over ideology, oil or border disputes, but basic resources like meat, wheat and water, none of which should be taken for granted.
Experts call this field “food security,” and the entire system is more fragile than it looks. World populations are climbing while water resources are dwindling, which has led countries such as Saudi Arabia and China to seek farmland on other continents. Among its myriad examples, “The Grab...
Experts call this field “food security,” and the entire system is more fragile than it looks. World populations are climbing while water resources are dwindling, which has led countries such as Saudi Arabia and China to seek farmland on other continents. Among its myriad examples, “The Grab...
- 9/9/2022
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s SeaWorld exposé Blackfish wasn’t an easy documentary to watch, but it was an easy documentary to get hooked by, which I don’t think is intended as a fish pun. The anger and sadness from Blackfish kick in after only a few minutes and are sustained for over 80 minutes.
After turning her directing attentions to scripted features (plus FX’s recent Children of the Underground), Cowperthwaite returns to the documentary world with The Grab, a new feature that is in all ways a tougher film to embrace. The Grab thrusts viewers into a complicated world without prelude, examines a problem that isn’t necessarily clear even to the onscreen heroes and, unlike Blackfish, spends much of its running time without an obvious point of sympathy or hissable villain.
There are, however, rewards to the toughness of The Grab. Its...
Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s SeaWorld exposé Blackfish wasn’t an easy documentary to watch, but it was an easy documentary to get hooked by, which I don’t think is intended as a fish pun. The anger and sadness from Blackfish kick in after only a few minutes and are sustained for over 80 minutes.
After turning her directing attentions to scripted features (plus FX’s recent Children of the Underground), Cowperthwaite returns to the documentary world with The Grab, a new feature that is in all ways a tougher film to embrace. The Grab thrusts viewers into a complicated world without prelude, examines a problem that isn’t necessarily clear even to the onscreen heroes and, unlike Blackfish, spends much of its running time without an obvious point of sympathy or hissable villain.
There are, however, rewards to the toughness of The Grab. Its...
- 9/9/2022
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In 2013, Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s documentary “Blackfish” uncovered the disturbing underbelly of SeaWorld wild-life park and subsequently brought about major changes to the organization. Nine years later, the director is at TIFF with “The Grab,” which exposes various governments, private investors and mercenaries from around the world that are working to seize food and water outside their borders to meet increasing shortages at the expense of entire populations. These groups are establishing themselves as the new Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), where the future world powers will be those who control not oil but food. The doc, which is seeking distribution, follows award-winning journalist Nathan Halverson and his team at the Center for Investigative Reporting as they crack open the land-grab story based on leaked documents. Halverson began writing about food grabs in 2014 after a Chinese company purchased Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer. The 4.7 billion purchase...
- 9/8/2022
- by Carole Horst
- Variety Film + TV
Back in person for the first time since before the pandemic, the Toronto International Film Festival will make its grand return with a slate that builds on its expansion from previous years. The 2022 lineup boasts the world premieres of several high-profile films, including Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light,” Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” and the Billy Eichner comedy “Bros.” However, there are a number of hot titles due to screen at the festival that have yet to be acquired. Documentaries by the likes of “Blackfish” director Gabriela Cowperthwaite and narrative features led by stars such as Margaret Qualley, Brian Cox and Tessa Thompson just may incite a bidding war. Here are 15 buzzy sales titles to watch.
“Sanctuary”
After leading Claire Denis’ Cannes prizewinner “The Stars at Noon,” Margaret Qualley continues to shine bright with “Sanctuary.” In this Special Presentations showing, she...
“Sanctuary”
After leading Claire Denis’ Cannes prizewinner “The Stars at Noon,” Margaret Qualley continues to shine bright with “Sanctuary.” In this Special Presentations showing, she...
- 9/7/2022
- by Harper Lambert and Brian Welk
- The Wrap
The Toronto Intl. Film Festival’s Docs program gets underway Sept. 8 and will feature 22 nonfiction films — a hefty 57 increase from last year’s lineup, which was cut back to 14 due to Covid.
Notable titles include Oscar winner Laura Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” which is pictured above and making its Canadian premiere following a world premiere at the Venice Film Festival; “Blackfish” director Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s latest docu “The Grab” and veteran filmmaker’s Werner Herzog’s “Theatre of Thought.”
Sacha Jenkins’s “Armstrong’s Black & Blues” will serve as TIFF Docs’ opening film.
Thom Powers, lead TIFF documentary programmer, winnowed the list of 22 from 700 submissions. While constructing this year’s program, Powers noticed various themes emerge across submissions, one being being the act of resistance.
“Cowperthwaite’s “The Grab,” which she has been making for seven years under a lot of secrecy, follows journalist Nathan Halverson as...
Notable titles include Oscar winner Laura Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” which is pictured above and making its Canadian premiere following a world premiere at the Venice Film Festival; “Blackfish” director Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s latest docu “The Grab” and veteran filmmaker’s Werner Herzog’s “Theatre of Thought.”
Sacha Jenkins’s “Armstrong’s Black & Blues” will serve as TIFF Docs’ opening film.
Thom Powers, lead TIFF documentary programmer, winnowed the list of 22 from 700 submissions. While constructing this year’s program, Powers noticed various themes emerge across submissions, one being being the act of resistance.
“Cowperthwaite’s “The Grab,” which she has been making for seven years under a lot of secrecy, follows journalist Nathan Halverson as...
- 8/17/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
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