Blood in the Mobile

We all love our mobile phones. It connects us with our family and friends. But it also connects us with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Inside mobile phones are illegal minerals that for years have fueled conflicts, created child slavery and other severe human rights abuses in the Congo. Congo is one of the world’s richest countries in terms of natural resources: diamonds, gold, copper, tin, coltan, cassiterite and other minerals. Except these resources has been a curse for the country. During the brutal reign of King Leopold, the Belgians robbed Congo of rubber, killing millions of people. The story has repeated itself ever since – different resources but the same greed and brutality. Until a few years ago, the exploitation of the minerals fueled a horrific civil war in Congo, a conflict that resulted in almost 4 million deaths. The minerals are still mined and exported illegally out of Congo, where they are used in the production of electronic devices. Now Filmmaker Frank Poulsen starts his quest to find out if his mobile phone is filled with illegal minerals. Blood in the Mobile is a film about one of the most dangerous places on earth; it’s about human courage and above all it’s about hope and the search for solutions.