''Life and Debt'' is a 2001

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

directed by

Stephanie Black Stephanie Black is an American documentary film director and producer. She resides in New York City. Her award-winning film works include ''H-2 Worker'', which documents the more than 10,000 Caribbean men brought to Florida each year under a tempo ...

. It examines the economic and social situation in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, and specifically how the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

structural adjustment Structural adjustment programs (SAPs) consist of loans (structural adjustment loans; SALs) provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) to countries that experience economic crises. Their purpose is to adjust the coun ...

policies have impacted the island.

Content

''Life and Debt'' is a 2001 United States documentary film directed by

about the economic and social situation in

, and specifically the impact of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank's policies. It starts with the essay "

A Small Place ''A Small Place'' is a work of creative nonfiction published in 1988 by Jamaica Kincaid. A book-length essay drawing on Kincaid's experiences growing up in Antigua, it can be read as an indictment of the Antiguan government, the tourist industr ...

" by

Jamaica Kincaid Jamaica Kincaid (; born May 25, 1949) is an Antiguan-American novelist, essayist, gardener, and gardening writer. She was born in St. John's, Antigua (part of the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda). She lives in North Bennington, Vermo ...

. The IMF loans were conditional on structural adjustment policies, which required Jamaica to enact major economic reforms, including trade liberalization, privatization, and deregulation. Reforms were not successful and left Jamaica with $4.6 billion in debt. The film features a number of interviews with former Jamaican Prime Minister

Michael Manley Michael Norman Manley (10 December 1924 – 6 March 1997) was a Jamaican politician who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1972 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1992. Manley championed a democratic socialist program, and has been d ...

, in which he critiques the system of International Financial Institution loans. He is particularly critical of required structural adjustments as an attack on the sovereignty of many former colonial nations and suggests the system is akin to

imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

neocolonialism Neocolonialism is the continuation or reimposition of imperialist rule by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony). Neocolonialism takes the form of economic imperialism, gl ...

Cast

Buju Banton Mark Anthony Myrie (born 15 July 1973),Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, professionally known by his stage name Buju Banton, is a Jamaican reggae dancehall musician. He is considered to be one of the most ...

* Horst Kὅhler *

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

Stanley Fischer Stanley Fischer ( he, סטנלי פישר; born October 15, 1943) is an Israeli American economist who served as the 20th Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017. Fisher previously served as the 8th governor of the Bank of Israel fro ...

Yami Bolo Rolando Ephraim McLean (born 1 October 1970), better known as Yami Bolo, is a Jamaican reggae singer. Biography Yami Bolo grew up in postal zone 13 of Kingston. His first professional job and exposure was with Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion C ...

Jerry Rawlings Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the de ...

* Michael Witter * David Coore * Jean-Bertrand Aristide * Belinda Becker

Soundtrack

Awards

* 2004 FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DU FILM INSULAIRE, OLE DE GROIX, SPECIAL JURY PRIZE * 2004 PARIS HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL, SPECIAL JURY PRIZE. * CINEAMBIENTE INT. ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FEST. 2002 TEEN JURY BEST FILM OF FESTIVAL, TURIN, ITALY * ONE WORLD 2002-PRAGUE HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL-AUDIENCE AWARD BEST FILM OF THE FESTIVAL * ONE WORLD MEDIA AWARDS-FINALIST, INTERNATIONAL PREMIER AWARD, ENGLAND * BEST DOCUMENTARY AT THE JAMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL. * CRITICS JURY AWARD, HONORABLE MENTION "BEST FILM OF THE FESTIVAL" INDEPENDENT FEATURE PROJECT/WEST LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL

Reviews

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

, a film critic for the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'', gave the movie a three out of four-star rating and described it as "a harsh indictment, but persuasive". On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has an approval rating of 90% based on reviews from 42 critics. On June 15, 2001,

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', wrote a review titled "ILM REVIEW; One Love, One Heart, Or a Sweatshop Economy?", in which he describes the film as a powerful documentary. He says that "The movie offers the clearest analysis of globalization and its negative effects that I've ever seen on a movie or television screen". On February 26, 2003, Jamie Russell from the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

gave it a four out of five-star rating and described the movie as brilliant. She explains that Stephanie Black's hits toward the tourism industry and lack of options to change the situation leaves audiences with nothing more than simply being angry about everything. On March 25, 2003, Andrew Pulver of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' gave it four out of five stars. He stressed the importance of the movie and explained that anyone with any interest in globalization should watch it. He describes it as "a detailed, poignant examination of Jamaica's parlous economic plight". * * *
Life and Debt on Google Video

References

{{Reflist 2001 films 2001 documentary films American documentary films Works about debt Films based on non-fiction books International Monetary Fund World Bank Economy of Jamaica Films shot in Jamaica Films set in Jamaica Documentary films about economics Films about privatization Works about the World Bank Works about the International Monetary Fund 2000s English-language films 2000s American films