Battle Himns Productions

Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price

Role: Co-producer
Services: Pre-production, research, writing, filming

As a co-producer for a film about Walmart, my challenge was to find, develop, and then film stories about Walmart’s reputation and impact in the fourteen countries where it has operations. The most crucial of those operations, for both Walmart itself and for the world at large is, or course, China.

The clip here shows my work in Shenzhen, a large factory city in southern China. Interviewing factory workers there was a difficult charge, and required several months of preparation and planning with prominent local NGOs in Hong Kong and mainland China, individuals and organizations who took it upon themselves

to help with the production before we even set foot on the ground. In this case, we also teamed up with local cinematographers, and with a Chinese producer to get the access we needed. The results were visually stunning, and emotionally unforgettable.

The story the film tells is not about one company, but rather what it means to be a decent corporate citizen in a world that has become increasing small and interconnected. How can companies balance the imperative of profit-making with the increasing demands that they treat workers fairly and equitably, and run environmentally supportive businesses? Dealing with these questions, and many more like them, are unavoidable as we try to build sustainable societies in the face of the world’s bracing challenges for the 21st century.