Hot Docs 2009

Has the practice of privatization become similar to warfare, dehumanizing us and reducing us to mere statistics? Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and former chief economist at the World Bank, certainly thinks so, as does Bongani, a self-described "electro-rebel" in Soweto, South Africa, who illegally restores electricity to the homes of people too poor to pay the incessant bills of the newly privatized provider. Simon, a train driver who has worn the uniform of countless firms since his beloved British Rail was privatized, recounts the steady decline in service and maintenance and the sharp increase in accidents that have followed. In the Philippines, where the privatization of health care has led to an exodus of nurses and doctors, Minda struggles to afford the kidney dialysis treatments needed to keep her son alive. Meanwhile, martial law is declared in Cochabamba, Bolivia as protesters fight the privatization of water. A compelling portrayal of a complex subject, The Big Sellout offers an empathetic and sobering study of the human impact of global economics.