On 16 March, the Benelux Chamber of Commerce in China and Flanders Investment & Trade organized a screening of the movie at the Belgian Embassy, followed by a buffet from our beloved Morel’s Restaurant (thanks, Renaat). Leo De Bock presented the movie and answered many questions from the audience.
The multiple award-winning documentary “The Dammed” was filmed in 1995 by Leo De Bock, a renowned Belgian documentary maker.

Siegfried Verheijke was also involved in the making of the movie. It focuses on the displacement of the local population affected by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam Project. While it says it tries to show a “balanced view”, obviously the Chinese government side loses out, thanks to the clumsy explanations from the government officials and “guides”.
Always difficult for me to give an assessment. We can expect unfortunate cases of mishandling the displacement, corruption, miscalculation in the planning of this huge project and more. That is, well, normal in China. It is a pity there is no good follow-up on the today situation of the Three Gorges Dam Project – how are people now really resettled (and compensated) and how is the impact on the environment and the local economies. The big question – was it all worth it. Of course the river is a killer but measuring the impact on energy generation and flood control are just part of the equation. Having been involved in several hydro projects myself, the real question is – will they be able to control the sedimentation of the lake. As far as I know, that will be very, very problematic. We might end up with lots of sand and little water behind the huge dam.