Copper Age (2011)

This documentary travels to Zambia, a nation rich in copper. Zambia once mined and sold its own copper, but when prices dropped, the mines were privatized, shifting control to Western companies. Revenue intended for schools, healthcare, and infrastructure now flows out of the country, including substantial aid from the European Investment Bank. Czech filmmakers Ivo Bystřičan and Jiří Málek investigate this situation, which mirrors headlines in the West. Instead of focusing on activists and humanitarian organizations, "The Copper Age" examines the practical effects of aid and challenges conventional perspectives on global development.