From Upstream Flix and director David Barnhart comes the story of an American city poisoned by their own state, Flint.
Against the backdrop of a post-World War 2 bustling Flint, full of hope and promise of the good life from General Motors, we learn of the suffering of residents, including Jim Dixon who is suffering from kidney failure, and Alicia Nicola Sears, who details the health impacts of lead on people, and we hear from experts such as Anna Clark and Will Sarni.
Flint: The Poisoning of an American City traces THE TIMELINE of the city' s interaction with the Flint River - from the continued abuse and neglect of both city infrastructure and environmental regulations, to subsequent population decline, through to Michigan's 2013 appointing of outside emergency managers. This poisonous mix of factors created a crisis which has gone on for five years, resulting in record high levels of lead in the drinking water of the city.
The film intersperses first-person accounts of area residents (including parents, social workers, educators, pastors, and experts on water and health) with testimony at congressional and other oversight committee hearings to demonstrate how 100,000 people have been poisoned by lead, an irreversible affliction. No timeline exists for the remediation of the situation.
Flint explores the critical question of how this could happen in America and how this event should serve as a warning for the rest of the country. A recent report found that 5,300 American cities were found to be in violation of federal lead rules, and research published in USA Today detected excessive lead in nearly 2,000 public water systems across all 50 states. This documentary educates and inspires action, seeking to radically change how we view and value water.
Flint: The Poisoning of an American City explores the critical question of how 100,000 people in the USA could be poisoned by their own state. The film intersperses interviews with area residents and experts in lead and water with testimony at congressional oversight committee hearings. Flint serves as a warning for the rest of the country. This documentary educates and inspires action.
Flint will be available on Digital January 27 from Upstream Flix.
