Blood in the Mobile
Encyclopedia
Blood in the Mobile is a 2010 documentary film
by Danish film director Frank Piasecki Poulsen. The film addresses the issue of conflict minerals
by examining illegal cassiterite
mining in the North-Kivu province in eastern DR Congo. In particular, it focuses on the cassiterite mine in Bisie.
The film is co-financed by Danish, German, Finnish, Hungarian and Irish television, as well as the Danish National film board.
The film premiered in Denmark on September 1, 2010. During the making of the film Frank Piasecki Poulsen is working with communications professional and new media
entrepreneur Mikkel Skov Petersen on the online campaign
of the same name.
The campaign is addressing Poulsen and Petersens notion of the responsibility of the manufacturers of mobile phones on the situation in war torn eastern Congo. The project is collaborating with NGOs like Dutch-based Make It Fair and British-based Global Witness
who are also engaged in changing the conduct of Western companies regarding the industrial use of minerals of unknown origin.
The cassiterite dug out in the illegal mines in North-Kivu is according to Danish corporate monitor organization Danwatch primarily purchased as tin
by the electronics industry after processing in East Asia.
Apart from trying to raise awareness of the issue of illegal mining and alleged lack of corporate social responsibility from the mobile phone industry, the campaign is an attempt to experiment with new ways of building an audience and create additional funding for documentary films.
The production of the film and the campaign is run in association with Danish new media company Spacesheep, founded in 2009 by Poulsen and Petersen in association with major Danish independent TV and film production company Koncern.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
by Danish film director Frank Piasecki Poulsen. The film addresses the issue of conflict minerals
Conflict minerals
Conflict minerals are minerals mined in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuses, notably in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by the Congolese National Army and various armed rebel groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda...
by examining illegal cassiterite
Cassiterite
Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem...
mining in the North-Kivu province in eastern DR Congo. In particular, it focuses on the cassiterite mine in Bisie.
The film is co-financed by Danish, German, Finnish, Hungarian and Irish television, as well as the Danish National film board.
The film premiered in Denmark on September 1, 2010. During the making of the film Frank Piasecki Poulsen is working with communications professional and new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
entrepreneur Mikkel Skov Petersen on the online campaign
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
of the same name.
The campaign is addressing Poulsen and Petersens notion of the responsibility of the manufacturers of mobile phones on the situation in war torn eastern Congo. The project is collaborating with NGOs like Dutch-based Make It Fair and British-based Global Witness
Global Witness
Global Witness is an international NGO established in 1993 that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide. The organisation has offices in London and Washington, D.C.. Global Witness states that it does not have...
who are also engaged in changing the conduct of Western companies regarding the industrial use of minerals of unknown origin.
The cassiterite dug out in the illegal mines in North-Kivu is according to Danish corporate monitor organization Danwatch primarily purchased as tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
by the electronics industry after processing in East Asia.
Apart from trying to raise awareness of the issue of illegal mining and alleged lack of corporate social responsibility from the mobile phone industry, the campaign is an attempt to experiment with new ways of building an audience and create additional funding for documentary films.
The production of the film and the campaign is run in association with Danish new media company Spacesheep, founded in 2009 by Poulsen and Petersen in association with major Danish independent TV and film production company Koncern.