Skip
to main navigation

Skip
to main content

Edinburgh International Film
Festival

Login Register

View
basket (opens in new window)
17 - 28
June 2009

Search

What's On

About EIFF

News

Gallery

Ticketing

Awards

Industry

Press

Learning

Support Us

Submissions

Home

What's On

a
BLOOMING BUSINESS

Full Details

What's
On

Venues Listing

Strands

Suggest-o-tron

Festival
Planner

Like this? Try these

Big River
Man

One man takes on the Amazon – with scant regard for life, limb or
sobriety…

Garapa

An astonishingly moving documentary with a brutally honest approach.

Outrage

A scorching exposé from the director of This Film is Not Yet Rated (EIFF
2006).

The Crimson
Wing

The year’s most riveting nature film.

Tiny Joys

There's nothing you can't find in the
classifieds....

Document
/ UK premiere

a BLOOMING BUSINESS

Ton Van Zantvoort /

Netherlands /

2009 /

52 mins

It’s time to wake up and smell the imported roses.

Screening with Lessons From the night
Adrian Francis | Australia
| 2008 | 9 min

Overview

Full
Details

Director

Credits

There is very little need to force oneself through the security gates of
flower farms in Kenya in order to film the environmental destruction and abuse
of workers’ rights occurring in the large-scale farms supplying a hungry Dutch
flower market. The evidence is quite plain from the contaminated water spewing
out of the farms, the agonising illnesses caused by chemical industrial
accidents, and the toll of long working days on human beings. Very quietly,
director Ton van Zantvoort lifts the lid on what could be described as
enslavement. The style of his film is not over-dramatic but instead offers
snapshots of life on the shores of Lake Naivasha in Kenya. Since the massive
industry of flower farming – worth 400 million euros – arrived, there are very
few ways to earn a living. Agnes used to be employed by one of the farms, but
having worked in close proximity to harmful pesticides, she is scarred for life
and knows she is now not pretty enough to be hired again. Jane, on the other
hand, is still employed and clings on to her job so she can feed her children.
She works at least 16 hours each day and has to be prepared to obey her
supervisor, including submitting to his sexual demands. Oscar has been reduced
to selling polluted water from the lake to local villagers – a demeaning job
within his community. Kennedy has to continue fishing the lake in spite of
dwindling fish breeding grounds since the flower farms began. The list of
witnesses goes on. Everyone is powerless against the might of the flower farm
and its seemingly complete disregard for human beings in favour of profit.
However, the spark of hope that remains – which van Zantvoort manages to capture
– exists in the dreams of these people: for a better job, for their children’s
education, for a full exposé of the atrocious working conditions they have to
endure in order to survive. Some are resolutely clinging to these dreams, but
some are beginning to lose the battle as they are ground down. It is clear that
a rose symbolises something quite different from love to those featured here. a
BLOOM ING BUSINESS explores and exposes this injustice with a dignified
strength.

Screening with:

Lessons From The Night

Adrian Francis /

Australia /

2008 /

9 mins

Maia is a Bulgarian locked in diplomatic limbo in Australia. A former
translator for the United Nations, she reflects on her current job as an office
cleaner in this subtle depiction of the absurd long-term consequences of being
locked out of your own country by regime change.

Director: Adrian Francis
Producer:
Melanie Brunt
Exec Producer: Gai
Dunlop
Scriptwriter: Adrian
Francis
Editor: Adrian Francis
DoP:
Marcus Dineen
Sound Production: John
Kassab

Book Tickets

21
June, 14:15 at Cineworld
6
Book £8.50/£7.50

24
June, 18:00 at Cineworld
6
Book £8.50/£7.50

Want to save for later?

Login or Register to add this movie to
'My Movies'. Build a list of all the movies you want to see during the
festival!

Festival Diary: June

M

T

W

T

F

S

S

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

Find Films By Strand

EIFF is split into Strands. Use them to help find your films.

—
Select strand — Animation Behind the Scenes Black Box British Gala Closing Night Gala Directors'
Showcase Document
Family Gala Focus: Peter McDougall and
John MacKenzie Gala In Person Night Moves Opening Night
Gala Panel Events and Workshops Retrospective: Roger Corman
Rosebud Shorts Special Events Special
Screenings Under the RadarGo What are the strands?

Event Search

Go

Suggest-o-tron

Use this fun gadget to help you navigate the Festival programme and find your
festival feet.
Start
Suggest-o-tron

Featured Trailer

Watch trailer

The
Architect

About the festival

Born alongside Edinburgh's International Festival in 1947, EIFF was one of
the world's first international film festivals.

About the
festival

Contact
us

Get
Involved

Submissions

Jobs

Subscribe

EIFF
News RSS

EIFF
Blog RSS

Useful links

EIFF
History

Latest
News

Find EIFF

Facebook

YouTube

Flickr

Twitter

Privacy
Statement |

Terms &
Conditions

Line: webdesign and e-commerce, Edinburgh and
London

EQSN: website
hosting