Nestled below the rugged peaks of the Northern Rockies and along the crystal-clear Kootenai River lies the small town of Libby, Montana – an ironic setting for a town where many hundreds of people are sick or have already died from asbestos exposure. The Environmental Protection Agency calls Libby the worst case of community-wide exposure to a toxic substance in U.S. history.As residents see their family members and friends contract deadly diseases, the company responsible for the toxic mess leaves town and declares bankruptcy.
A small, unlikely group of citizens comes together to fight for their town. They find themselves at odds with local politicians, the state governor, senators, an international corporation, and even their own friends and neighbors. Some prominent town residents claim the issue has been blown out of proportion by a zealous few and a young charismatic federal bureaucrat in charge of clean-up. Emotions fly and solutions are hard to find in this troubling, yet potent true drama.
A journey into this hard-working blue collar community, Libby, Montana is the story of the American Dream gone horribly wrong.
Awards
Finalist, 26th Independent Feature Project Market, New York
Finalist, Banff Mountain Film Festival
Best Film With Environmental Theme, Plymouth Independent Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION:
26th Independent Feature Project Market
Anchorage Film Festival
Baja California Film Festival (Mexico)
Banff Mountain Film Festival (Canada)
Bozeman Film Festival
Bradford Film Festival (UK)
Global Visions Film Festival (Canada)
Idaho International Film Festival
Imperial Beach Film Festival
Northwest Film & Video Festival
Okomedia Film Festival (Germany)
Olympia Film FestivalFinalist, Banff Mountain Film Festival
Reviews
“If the political pressure to prosecute Grace’s executives to the full extent of the law persists, it will be due in part to this deeply moving film. Many critics have praised the “objectivity” of filmmakers Doug Hawes-Davis and Drury Gunn Carr; what they mean is that the directors let the headlines, residents, and Lovick tell the story. This time-tested documentary technique seems fresh in the wake of last year’s much-more-publicized and vocally political Fahrenheit 9/11, but at its root is the recognition that Libby, Montana isn’t a red-state or blue-state story. It is a story about American democracy and American capitalism, and the battle that must constantly be waged to keep the latter from consuming the former.” – San Antonio Current
“Heartbreaking, but also a fine piece of journalistic film-making. It has the rare quality of being, at once a superb educational piece, a deeply moving story filled with truth and pathos, and a riveting cinematic event.” -Don Snow, Professor of Environmental Humanities, Whitman College
“Emotionally powerful. Intense.” -Willamette Week
“**** Tragic, infuriating, edifying. A quietly savvy approach to storytelling.” -See Magazine
“With an artful interweaving of the town’s economic history and the life (and death) stories of various individuals, the film picks up a compelling rhythm, inexorably pulling you along. Libby, Montana is a big film about a big problem, well balanced and well told.” -Montana Magazine
“Definitely deserves Oscar consideration.” – Illinois Times
” **** Sensational. Best feature documentary of 2004.” Steve Fesenmaier, West Virginia Library Commission
“Equal parts mystery, horror film, black comedy, corporate indictment and human tragedy Libby, Montana is expertly compiled and genuinely compassionate when addressing the people involved. The film pulsates with urgency and commitment, and manages splendidly without the abrasive finger-pointing and knee-jerk aggression that has marred reportage in our age of so-called reality television.” -www.flickhead.com
“Carr and Hawes-Davis have never shied away from eliciting strong emotional responses, but this film reaches a new level … it’s depth and pace, as well as the fantastic archival footage, give it gravitas.” -High Country News
“In the past, documentary filmmakers Drury Gunn Carr and Doug Hawes-Davis of Missoula’s High Plains Films have concentrated on small subjects like prairie dogs and coyotes. Naturalists and Wal-Mart parking lots were about as grandiose as the pair got. But with their latest film, Libby, Montana, the sense of scale has been redefined.” -Missoula Independent
“Incisive and unrelenting.” -Mother Jones
“Among the observers to arrive in 2000 were Drury Gunn Carr and Doug Hawes-Davis of High Plains Films. But unlike many journalists, Carr and Hawes-Davis hung around, letting their cameras capture the tales of years of secrets and lies.” -Missoula Independent
“Emotionally gut-wrenching.” -The Missoulian
“Excellent…the film accurately tells the tale of Libby with an introduction that mixes the home movies of local families with industry fluff pieces about mining and logging in northwest Montana. That eventually segues into the asbestos story. Overall, it paints a picture of Libby as a loving, caring family town where something went amiss.” -The Western News
“The film blends the current debate with compelling archival footage during the mining heyday. Libby residents find themselves beleaguered by medical and economic questions in the wake of the mine shutdown and the bankruptcy proceedings of the former owners (as they try to dodge legal liability and the massive cleanup costs). Abandoned by their former employer, residents are divided over where to lay blame – on greedy company officers, or on government officials charged with regulating mining to ensure the public health and safety in Libby and in the 30 states and six countries where products were shipped.” Real Screen
“Employing impressive imagery and flashbacks, this film not only tells of a failed American environmental policy, but also of courage, hope and dedication.” -Okomedia Institute
“**** Touching.” – filmcritic.com
“Travel to Montana’s Kootenai Valley, where the Rocky Mountain town of Libby bears the scars of more than a half-century of vermiculite mining and Zonolite insulation manufacturing. The discovery that the Libby vermiculite was contaminated with asbestos rocked this picturesque small town to its foundations. Libby, Montana examines the plight of a community faced with asbestos-laden homes and a government that turns its back on the cancer-stricken residents. Once a prosperous mining town, Libby now has the dubious distinction of being the worst case of community-wide toxic exposure in U.S. history. Unlike Michael Moore, filmmakers Drury Gunn Carr and Doug Hawes-Davis do not editorialize, but rather present the facts and let you draw your own conclusion.” -Banff Mountain Film Festival
“The film begins by showing the human side of Libby, with images of everyday Montana people in a setting that can equate to any small-town in the country.” -The Daily Evergreen
“Buoyed by poignant interviews with Libby citizens who tell their tales of betrayal, Libby, Montana is a documentary with heart about big business and the abandonment of human rights.” – VUE Weekly
“Thoughtful and wrenching.” – Portland Mercury
“The film chronicles the heroic efforts of one EPA chief, parachuted into the disaster zone. It follows his rounds amongst innocent, good, loyal townsfolk who put their trust in the “company.” Although the film is about restitution, honour, and, helping a town recover, it is rife with political scandal.” – Trailpeak.com
“Riveting.” – Life Lines
“Richly rewarding.” -Bozeman Daily Chronicle
“It took three years to record 120 hours of video, sort through 80 hours of stock footage, and trim it all down into a two-hour documentary, but the guys at High Plains Films, based in Missoula, have finished the task.” – Helena Independent Record
“As the townfolk rally and emotions and accusations fly, Libby finds itself under a national spotlight as the case gains prominence and the US government feigns impotence in the wake of corporate indifference. A companion piece to Soderbergh’s Erin Brockovich, Libby, Montana is the powerful and shocking story of a town left to die, but which battled to survive.” -Bradford Film Festival
“Eschewing rhetoric, hysteria, or commentary, the filmmakers employ a form of direct cinema that in its restraint and layering of details has a cumulative power.” -Milton Tabbot, IFP/New York
“High Plains Films’ documentary about asbestos poisoning and the deaths of more than 200 people makes its way to DVD just as it’s getting a debut in the Big Apple.” -The Missoulian
“Libby, Montana is the true story of the town’s struggles with the asbestos mine and the mine’s failure since the 1960s to relay the dangers of asbestos dust.” – Reno-Gazette Journal
“In 2000, the northern mining town of Libby, population 4,500, made national news when the Environmental Protection Agency arrived for emergency clean up after decades of mining vermiculite had exposed the town to asbestos. ”- Patriot-Ledger
“Shocking, devastating.” -Combustible Celluloid
Details
LENGTH: 1 x 83 Minutes
FORMAT: Special
CAMERA: Betacam, DV
INTERNATIONAL TRACK: No
TEXTLESS: Yes
CLOSED CAPTIONS: No
ASPECT RATIO: 4:3
PRODUCTION YEAR: 2004
RELEASE YEAR: 2005
SUPPLIER: High Plains Films
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
RIGHTS TERRITORY: Worldwide
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