Parliament members Mats Johansson and Luciano Astudillo invited director Fredrik Gertten to screen BANANAS!* in the Swedish parliament on October 1. The meeting was held, and the response was overwhelming from politicians from left to right. Read more »
Before the meeting, Michael Carter, Executive Vice President of Dole, sent a letter to Johansson and Astudillo. In the letter, Carter provided Dole’s perspective on BANANAS!* and “a more complete understanding, given the October 1 screening”. Read the full letter »
On October 8, Johansson and Astudillo sent a reply to Carter’s letter:
"Dear Michael,
Thanks for your letter of September 28, regarding the Bananas-film.
Regrettably, we have to say that we are not very impressed by the way you are arguing your case. A more civilized way of behaving would be to answer the questions raised by the film in a proper way with a serious intention, rather than attacking Mr Gertten.
It seems clear to us that you are misled by your PR-firm on how to influence Swedish opinion, with a poor understanding of our tradition of free speech during more than two hundred years. As the saying goes: all business is local. We strongly recommend a change of bureau and tactics, if you are at all interested in the Swedish market. But first and most we urge you – in the name of free speech – to withdraw your lawsuit against Mr Gertten.
Stockholm, October 8, 2009
Mats Johansson, M P for the Conservatives
Luciano Astudillo, M P for the Social Democrats"
Related media links:
“Dole försökte stoppa visningen av banandokumentären i riksdagen”
Andreas Henriksson, Makthavare.se, Oct 7
Includes longer interviews with Johansson and Astudillo. For a translation by Google, click here.
”Gertten får stöd från höger och vänster”
Hedvig Weibull, Sydsvenskan, Oct 2
"Dole gör en slags ekonomisk fatwa"
Anders Forsström, Dagens Nyheter, Oct 1
”Svenska företag kan inte göra som Dole”
Ann Persson, Dagens Nyheter, Oct 1
”Filmen BANANAS!* visas i Riksdagen”
TV4 News, Oct 1
”Därför visades BANANAS!* i riksdagen”
TV4 News, Oct 1
Interview with Fredrik Gertten
SVT News, Oct 1
Interview with Fredrik Gertten and Luciano Astudillo
Gomorron Sverige, SVT, Oct 1
Kulturnyheterna
SVT, Oct 1
"Konsten att skala yttrandefriheten"
Fredrik Robertsson, Helsingborgs Dagblad, Oct 2
”Höstens viktigaste film?”
Miranda Sigander, Expressen.se, Oct 2
"Gerttens film väckte en storm"
Jeanette Gentele, Svenska Dagbladet, Oct 5