A special TTT Film Club screening as the directors of The Bentley Effect join us as part of their UK tour.
The directors of The Bentley Effect are joining us as part of a UK tour for a special showing of this inspiring movie about how a how a rural community in Australia stopped a fracking company, at the Royal Seven Stars, 7.30-10pm on Tuesday June 6th.
"The Bentley Effect" is a timely story of a community’s heroic stand against unconventional gas, which shows how strategic direct action and peaceful protest from a committed community can overcome industrial might and political short-sightedness.
When the coal seam gas industry staked a claim on the Northern Rivers shire of Australia, alarm bells rang out. A critical mass of people from all walks of life – farmers, landowners, parents, activists, scientists – organised themselves to rally against the unconventional gas invasion. Despite the enormous public opposition, the gas industry and the State Government were determined to see their gas plan through. A series of dramatic blockades ensued, before the final battle lines were drawn in the peaceful farming valley of Bentley. Thousands of people flocked to the site to stare down the threat of 850 riot police, ordered in to break up the protest. What happened next set an historic precedent.
Filmed over five years, The Bentley Effect documents the highs and lows of the battle to keep a unique part of Australia gasfield-free.
Bentley Blockade activists Brendan Shoebridge, Simon Clough and Ian Gaillard, who are bringing the film for a UK tour, will open discussion. There will also be an activist workshop held on the following morning, 9am-12noon at 7 Stars (entry free, donations welcomed).
You can make an additional donation towards the tour costs if you wish, at https://planetfunder.org/
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