Reclaiming Cocoa, a new documentary by filmmaker Philippe Stalder, received its European film premiere at the Zurich Schoggifestival earlier this year, revealing deep cracks in the chocolate industry’s promises of sustainability and traceability.
The stunning new film examines the 'real history of the chocolate in your mouth', highlighting the roles of Swiss capitalist missionaries and African business innovation.
Over 115 minutes, the documentary aims to rethink how we consume chocolate and challenge historical narratives that have shaped the way cocoa is grown and traded.
It is also a beautifully poetic film with an uplifting message that attempts to imagine a world where value is shared equitably.
Stalder stated that the inspiration for making his documentary arose when he became aware of the discrepancy in Ghana’s cocoa supply chain, following a speech given by the former Ghanaian president, Nana Akufo-Addo, in Switzerland four years ago. During the speech, he announced that Ghana would process more cocoa locally.
“But what really made me dive deeper into it, was the Swiss colonial history in Ghana, which many people are not aware of. I also only found out about it during my first research trip when I met Nana Aduna II, the CEO of Ohene Cocoa.
“When I realised that to this day, the value chain still works based on post-colonial principles and that my country was involved in setting the value chain up like that, I decided to do something about it.”
Stadler’s film shows how the system exploits the farmers by design and that instead of just paying the farmers a fair price, the industry came up with countless farmer programmes, labels, and initiatives aimed at improving the farmers' lives when in reality, these programmes, labels, and initiatives primarily improve the companies reputations among their customers, sometimes even at the farmers cost.
Anthony Myers
“This is why I wanted to expose the industry's claims about traceability and sustainability," he said.
Stadler hopes that the issues raised in his film will serve as a base for discussion on how to move forward as a global society. So far, he says, “the feedback has been really amazing and encouraging, exceeding my own hopes and expectations.
“However, there are also some groups who, of course, feel that the film attacks their business interests. But to me, that is a sign that we did the job right.”
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