The Grab

The Grab is a 2022 American documentary film directed and produced by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. It follows investigative journalists at The Center for Investigative Reporting as they uncover efforts to control food and water resources. The film had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September8, 2022, and was released on June14, 2024, by Magnolia Pictures and Participant.

Plot
The film follows investigative journalists at The Center for Investigative Reporting as they uncover efforts by foreign actors to control food and water to the detriment of local populations.

The film outlines a global warming reaction by several nation states, where the powerful use force, economics and illegal mercenaries to take control of food and water stocks. The narrative begins with the 2014 purchase of US-based Smithfield Foods by Chinese WH Group, which the filmmakers say gave away control of a quarter of all pigs in the US. It then follows other hard-to-explain deals, such as the purchase of arid land in Arizona by a Saudi company. Russians hiring American cowboys to work in a region too cold for farmland. And Blackwater deals to secure land in Africa. All these strange commercial arrangements are linked by "following the money", a phrase heard several times in the film, which identifies connections between governments, commercial enterprises and legal and illegal military actors such as mercenary companies. The filmmakers ultimately draw the conclusion that it is all planned responses to changes stemming from climate change.

While the film is mostly archive and research image collages, it also contains some guerrilla film making, such as of the crew being denied access and detained at a Zambian airport.

Production
Gabriela Cowperthwaite spent six years working on the film, after journalist Nathan Halverson reported on Smithfield Foods. Cowperthwaite was initially asked if the investigative process behind Halverson's articles would make a good film. Due to the sensitive material of the subject, the production team did diagnostics on computers, not talking in rooms with windows, and not talking about the film at all. They also used encrypted servers and hand-delivered all footage.

Release
The film had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2022. It also screened at DOC NYC on November 13, 2022. In March 2024, Magnolia Pictures and Participant acquired distribution rights to the film, and set it for a June 14, 2024, release.

Reception
The film won the Best Documentary award at the San Diego International Film Festival.