Crude: The Real Price of Oil is outright sickening. Huge crude oil pits dot the landscape, natural waterways are so polluted that drinking the water causes cancer, and Ecuador’s indigenous communities’ entire way of life is on the brink of destruction. Responsibility for this pollution is the core of a lawsuit filed against Texaco (now Chevron) in 1993. The case has yet to be resolved.

Filmmaker Joe Berlinger follows the $27 billion “Amazon Chernobyl” lawsuit over the course of a dramatic three years. The heart of the film is the David versus Goliath battle between novice Ecuadorian lawyer and former oil field worker Pablo Fajardo and Chevron’s deep pockets and highly-paid litigation team. Crude is currently playing in theaters nationwide.

Berlinger has directed an engaging and fast-paced 105-minute film that is as much an environmental call to action as it is a moving appeal for real humanitarian change. The effects of oil drilling on 30,000 indigenous people are nothing short of horrific. But the dispute received little publicity until Berlinger began working on a documentary and Trudie Styler, along with husband Sting, became involved; Styler’s admirable activism is featured prominently in the film, and Sting’s music provides the soundtrack.

The fact that it takes a certain level of celebrity focus for environmental and humanitarian injustices to grab the public’s attention does not go unnoted in the film. When Berlinger was in San Francisco for Crude’s Bay Area theatrical release, we were able to sit down and discuss the film’s origins, his filmmaking style, and Chevron’s recent public relations attack discounting the documentary.