Jamaica is often thought of as a land of sea, sand and sun. But it is also a prime example of how economic globalization has impacted the world's developing countries. A new, critically acclaimed film called Life & Debt explores this dual reality by dissecting the "mechanism of debt" that is destroying local agriculture and industry in this Third World country while substituting sweatshops and cheap imports. With a voice-over narration written by Jamaica Kincaid, adapted from her non-fiction book "A Small Place," Life and Debt is an unapologetic look at the "new world order" from the point of view of Jamaican workers, farmers, government and policy officials who see the reality of globalization from the ground up.

Life & Debt has been shown at the Music Box in Chicago, the Visions theater in Washington, DC, and at the Cinema Village theater in New York City, where it filled screenings. Life & Debt will open for an exclusive one week engagement at the Charles Theater in Baltimore (1711 Charles Street, 410-727-3456) this Friday, March 11.

"As [filmmaker] Stephanie Black's powerful documentary 'Life and Debt' illustrates with an impressive (and depressing) acuity, globalization can have a devastating impact on third world countries," New York Times film critic Stephen Holden wrote. "The movie offers the clearest analysis of globalization and its negative effects that I've ever seen on a movie or television screen."

Told primarily from the perspective of Jamaica's displaced farmers and factory workers, the film allows viewers to grasp complex issues in a personal and emotional way. Viewers visit dairy farms that are forced to dump fresh milk when U.S. corporations flood the market with cheaper powdered milk. They see how Chiquita and Dole have forced Jamaica out of the banana industry so that they can monopolize the international banana market. And viewers watch as Tommy Hilfiger and Hanes benefit from the tax-free labor of Jamaican workers earning the equivalent of $30 every two weeks in the country's Free Trade Zones.

Life & Debt includes commentary from Jamaica's former Prime Minister Michael Manley--filmed weeks before his death--as well as International Monetary Fund deputy director Stanley Fischer, Haiti's Jean Paul Aristide and former Ghanaian president Jerry Rawlings.

Life & Debt woos audiences with a powerful soundtrack that includes songs from Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Mutabaruka, Buju Banton, Peter Tosh and others. The soundtrack, distributed by Tuff Gong records, will be available in stores beginning February 5. The film boasts breathtaking imagery by renowned cinematographer Malik Sayeed (Clockers, Girl 6, He Got Game).

Read the New York City IMC's interview with Stephanie Black: nyc.indymedia.org/audio/sb_interview.html