NY appeals court to hear filmmaker’s protest to release of footage in Chevron-Ecuador dispute

NY court to hear filmmaker protest in Chevron case

NEW YORK — A federal appeals court in New York has temporarily blocked a judge’s order forcing a filmmaker to release raw footage from a documentary about a legal dispute between Chevron and Ecuadoreans over oil contamination.

The federal appeals court in Manhattan said Friday it will handle the appeal on an expedited basis by filmmaker Joseph Berlinger. He was ordered to turn over outtakes of “Crude” by the end of the month. The documentary was released last year.

Chevron had sought the footage to prove that courts in Ecuador are treating the company unfairly.

Berlinger maintains he has a First Amendment right as a journalist to keep the outtakes out of the litigation.

Ecuadoreans claim Texaco Inc. contaminated their land before it became a subsidiary of Chevron in 2001.