Filmmaker Ian Bell On ‘WTO/99’ And The Legacy Of The Battle In Seattle

Filmmaker Ian Bell On ‘WTO/99’ And The Legacy Of The Battle In Seattle

In late November and early December 1999, the World Trade Organization convened in Seattle for a round of conferences and negotiations. Tens of thousands of protesters hit the streets to meet them, including labor activists alarmed by the post-NAFTA landscape of the U.S., as well as environmentalists dismayed at eroding standards of ecological care under the kinds of agreements the WTO was arranging. They in turn encountered a police response mo…