BEER documents the inner controversies that surrounded Erik Van Lieshout’s acceptance of the prestigious Heineken Prize in 2018. The footage shot over the course of the year chronicles the wildly unpredictable saga that unfolded: soon after the prize notification, national reports allege that Heineken “beer promotion” women in Africa are forced to sleep with their superiors. The scandal leads to an important foundation pulling grants from Heineken’s charities. The pivotal event of the film is when Van Lieshout, forgetting that everything is now online, makes offhand comments about the scandal to a reporter, causing anger at corporate headquarters. Previously praised and awarded by the Prize jury for his radical, political work, he suddenly finds himself in a complicated web of apology, fear, crisis, and corporate identity after a single impulsive conversation. Van Lieshout grapples with the consequences of working in a world where one can no longer be naïve, and that his attempts to do good seem to be consistently and unwittingly undermined by his talent for conflict. He wonders if he should even accept the prize; ultimately, he does—with a PR-induced hangover. Full video also available here: https://vimeo.com/424088525