Company Town (2016)

Directed by

Natalie Kottke

Genre

documentary film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 30m

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A documentary examines pollution from a paper plant in a small Arkansas town. It connects the plant's emissions to a rise in cancer and illness among residents. Local community members and activists try to hold the company accountable with limited help from the EPA.

factualsoberinginvestigativecommunity-focusedlow-keyconcernedmeasured

What happens

Company Town is an environmental documentary film by Natalie Kottke-Masocco and Erica Sardarian about alleged pollution by a Georgia-Pacific plant in Crossett, Arkansas, shot from 2011 to 2015. The documentary alleges that a spate of fatal cancers and other illnesses is due in part to the factory's emissions and improper waste disposal of known carcinogens including formaldehyde, dioxins, acetaldehyde, and chloroform. The plant has been owned by David Koch and Charles Koch since 2005. The film includes testimony from whistleblower David Guice, whose company was allegedly contracted to quietly dispose of "two hundred thousand cubic yards of 'ash' dredged from the Georgia-Pacific paper mill’s sediment ponds" across Georgia-Pacific property in the town. Baptist pastor David Bouie, 'riverkeeper' Cheryl Slavant, and others organize the Crossett community, many of whom work for the plant, and engage the regional Environmental Protection Agency office with limited results. The movie features commentary from American news commentator Van Jones. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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