Bidder 70

Gr 9 Up—In the waning days of the George W. Bush administration, the Bureau of Land Management gave a last gift, perhaps illegally, to energy and oil companies in the auction of 100,000 acres of a Federal Land Preserve in Utah. Tim De Christopher, a college student and environmental supporter, attended the auction with the intention of staging a peaceful protest, but instead entered bids with which he won the rights to 22,000 acres and for which he had no means of payment. The incoming Obama administration invalidated the auction and preserved the land, but nonetheless indicted, tried, and convicted De Christopher of fraud. He was sentenced to two years in Federal prison. The film follows De Christopher as he awaits trial, through many postponements, and as he begins to gain a confident voice for activism and the environment. Unfortunately, the Bureau of Land Management and the Interior Department refused to be interviewed or offer explanations for why the trial was continued, resulting in a one-sided presentation. Since the Utah judge, before whom the case was held, did not allow the defense to use any arguments which may have resulted in a public debate, the trial and conviction seemed to be a foregone conclusion. Using video footage of protests, demonstrations, speeches, and interviews with celebrity environmentalists, the production is overly long and repetitious, It doesn't clearly address the legal issues fundamental to the questions behind the auction, De Christopher's trial and imprisonment, and the rights of citizens to use civil disobedience in a just cause. Useful for discussions involving the ability of individuals to make a difference in the face of unjust governmental decisions.—Eva Elisabeth VonAncken, formerly Trinity-Pawling School Library, NY