Directed by
Baku, Azerbaijan, one of the world’s largest natural oil reserves, has become the target of foreign investors intent on exploiting the area’s underground riches. Zdroj begins a journey on Western highways that ends in the surreal, sinister landscape of an area on which Western high standards of living depend: places where cows graze on contaminated pastures and children play among heaps of toxic waste. With three fourths of its population living under the poverty line, the post-communist government has promised its people that Azerbaijan, thanks to oil, will become a second Kuwait. But while major oil companies like British Petroleum and a corrupt government make business deals, what is the common citizen’s situation like? Is black gold a blessing for a country struggling with social and economic problems?
Zdroj is a documentary that looks into our relationship with oil, the world’s most important natural resource and fulcrum of modern society. What we eat and drink and how we travel all depend on oil. For example, 98% of transportation is done by motors driven by some form of petroleum. Although motorists complain of gas price increases, no one stops to think of where the fuel comes from. For this reason, the film returns to the source in Azerbaijan, one of the world’s oldest and most important oil fields.
Geographical areas and populations
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Creative Europe Media Program. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.