Diamonds And Rust

In early March, 1999, Israeli filmmakers Adi Barash and Ruth Shatz were granted permission to board the ironically named trawler "The Spirit of Namibia" and, for the next 90 days, film the activities of the crew as they set about the backbreaking work of mining diamonds. The result is a gripping, 70 minute maritime nightmare worthy of Joseph Conrad. "The Spirit of Namibia" and its 38 member, multinational crew stays anchored a mile off the coast of Namibia in western Africa in what is known as the "Diamond Zone," a stretch of notoriously rough water tightly controlled by the all-powerful De Beers diamond syndicate. There, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, the "Spiri...