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OPENING CREDITS

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MAIN TITLE

THE LIMESTONE CONFLICT

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TITLE

On an Island in the Baltic Sea

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THE ACTIVIST

Limestone is the basis for the nature we have here. It’s the basis for the kind of water we have here. Limestone is the whole reason why Gotland looks the way it does. Limestone affects everything on this island.

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THE INDUSTRY

Gotland is limestone. It creates jobs. That’s one thing. Well, you can make limestone out of it, and use it in furnaces for the steel industry. You can make nice table tops and a bunch of things, bench tops. There are many things you can associate with limesone.

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TITLE

THE ACTIVIST

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THE ACTIVIST

I immediately thought of conflict. I can’t understand how you could even consider creating a mine here. I have to say I was pretty moved by how untouched this place is. No buildings, no traces of human existence whatsoever. I thought it was awful that there were plans to ruin this last area that’s this large and continuous, and almost has a wilderness character to it. This is the Ojnare bog. The Nordkalk quarry is there on the other side all the way up to the main road, the Fårösund road, and then SMA comes from the other direction, also pretty close. You don’t have to be an hydrologist to grasp that there won’t be a lot of water left in this bog.

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TITLE

THE INDUSTRY

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THE INDUSTRY

I grew up here and have been here since childhood. I’ve seen the military disappear, and then one thing after another disappear. The north of Gotland is pretty dependent on it, in some ways. It provides job opportunities, the limestone. It’ll be really tough for many, to find alternative ways of surviving here. So, I believe that the limestone industry, for the north of Gotland, is important. We have petitioned to expand the quarry and we’ve had four hearings in different level courts. We’ve gotten the go-ahead in all previous trials, but we keep struggling with the environment and with water, and things like that in order to get the final authorization.

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TITLE

THE NEIGHBOR

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THE NEIGHBOR

Horses, and dogs, and chickens... In order for us to live here, we have to have water, both for us and the animals. If we don’t have any water, then we can’t stay here, can’t live here. I think, if you look at the map, we’re one of the houses closest to the petitioned quarry. Sometimes the whole house shakes, and that’s 10 kilometers from here. There are a lot of houses with cracks in them because of the blasting. All the houses sit directly on the bedrock so obviously, when they set off explosions, they shake and crack. I’ve brought this up in every trial, but they’ve never taken note of it. They don’t give a damn.

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THE ACTIVIST

It was incredibly quick. I believe they did this in three or four days, even though they were disrupted by all the people trying to stop the machines. There were police surrounding the harvesters, trying to keep the protestors away.

1:04:40

POLICE MAN

If you climb down now then everything will be a lot easier. We’ll just let you out, and forget about the whole thing.

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THE ACTIVIST

It escalates, and more and more people show up, and we get three hundred people up by the deforestation area that surround the machinery, and which makes them put a stop to the deforestation.

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POLICE OFFICER

There won’t be anymore deforestation today.

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THE ACTIVIST

I was charged with disobeying the police, and that was my intention, in order to put focus on this whole affair. Like, what is really happening here? The protest and the stoppage was incredibly important. Putting a stop to the deforestation process is the major reason why we’re even still talking about this. I mean, it’s still not settled.

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THE ACTIVIST (CONT'D)

In some ways, this massive police operation sets off this whole media frenzy, and this daily rehashing of us vs. them, jobs vs. the environment, jobs vs. the water.

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THE ACTIVIST (CONT'D)

They call us “damn tree huggers” cause we’re trying to protect a source of water, in this instance. If these big quarries end up in this area, then we actually put our groundwater at risk on the north of Gotland.

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THE ACTIVIST (CONT'D)

I know that I’m highly disliked in certain circles, and, through some people, I’ve heard threats. But at the same time, I’m supported by a lot of people. It gives me the strength to keep going. Even though I can feel a bit frightened by these threats, I have to put that aside somehow. The main thing is that this place is protected. It’s so incredibly clean. Really good. The limestone industry won’t leave Gotland. Gotland is made of limestone. The desire to mine for limestone here will never end, but this is the wrong spot.

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TITLE

In the fall of 2015, The Swedish Government gave

the Ojnare forest a nature preserve status, potentially

putting a permanent stop to any mineral exploration.

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TITLE

Nordkalk, the leading limestone mining company

in the Baltic region, recently acquired a large piece

of land in another part of the island.

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CLOSING CREDITS

A Film by Petter Ringbom

Executive Produced by Marquise Stillwell

Music by Museum of Love

Still Photography by Karl Melander

Additional Footage Courtesy of Mose Agestam & Gunnar Britse

Sound Mix by Christopher Koch

Color by Jason Crump

Shot During the Gotland Film Lab Residency

Supported By

Film På Gotland

The Bergman Estate

Baltic Art Center

Region Gotland

Swedish Arts Council

Thank You

Thomas Mårtensson

Daniel Heilborn

Eva Falkgren

Anders Falkgren

Paola Ciliberto

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END OF PICTURE

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