BLOOD ON THE STONE

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Date: October 2006
Location: Sierra Leone, Congo DRC, USA
Distributor: CNN International (2+3 March 2007) – 52 min.
Credits: filmed and directed by Claudio von Planta
Presenter: Sorious Samura
Producer: Elisabeth Jones / Editor: Richard Guard
Executive Producer: Ron McCullagh Insight News TV

BLOOD ON THE STONE is a Sorious Samura investigation into the certification process of today’s diamond trade. This 52 minute documentary is published as a bonus feature on Warner Brother’s DVD of Blood Diamond where Leonardo DiCaprio is starring as a ruthless diamond dealer during Sierra Leone’s civil war in the 90s.

Production Notes:
BLOOD ON THE STONE was designed to capture a health check of the diamond industry at the end of 2006. According to DeBeers conflict diamonds don’t exist anymore and global diamond trade is now 99% clean. We discovered a rather different reality.

I wasn’t particularly surprised to discover some illegal activities in Sierra Leone and the Congo DRC. However, I was seriously disgusted by the blatant greed of diamond dealers in New York. They didn’t care at all about the origins of diamonds and didn’t give a toss about the requirements of certificates. Their only interest was money. Ripping off a black man like Sorious seemed to be a perfect business opportunity. Such corrupt and criminal behaviour clearly remains a driving force in the diamond industry. It feels rather schizophrenic to sell diamonds as a symbol of love.