AllMovie

Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Gertten gets into a protracted legal battle with American-based agricultural giant Dole after the company threatens him with legal action for his documentary detailing the successful lawsuit brought against them by a group of 12 Nigerian plantation workers. Back in 2009, Gertten's film Bananas!* was selected as a competing entry in the Los Angeles Film Festival. Shortly thereafter, as the filmmaker began preparing for his trip to the United States, he receives some distressing news: Not only had Bananas!* been pulled from competition, but a subsequent letter from Dole's lawyers warned of severe legal repercussions if he persisted in showing the film. Even worse, an alarmingly deceptive article about Bananas!* appeared on the cover of the Los Angeles Business Journal just one week before its scheduled premiere, effectively portraying the filmmaker and his collaborators as the villains despite the fact that no one at Dole had yet to see the finished film. In Big Boys Gone Bananas!*, Gertten confronts Dole out in the open, exposing their tactics while fighting against powerful corporate interests that would sooner silence free speech than own up to their mistakes.