The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster (aka the BP Oil Spill), is officially registered as one of the worst oil spill disasters in an unfortunately rather lengthy history of similar devastating occurrences all over the world; The people who live in the Niger delta, for example, are just one ongoing example of a population that has had to live with resulting environmental catastrophes for decades. Their story has been documented on film more than a few times – films that were highlighted on this blog.
An all-too familiar David vs Goliath story, the film follows the battle between the multinational oil and gas company, BP, and a 300-person Louisiana Gulf community dependent on oyster fishing, in a region where the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened, where more than 200 million gallons of crude oil was pumped into the Gulf of Mexico for a total of 87 days, making it the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. Many thousand total miles of coastline were affected, including the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, and even though the well was capped in July 2010, oil is still washing up on shores, which might cause long-term damage to people living in the area.
The initial oil rig explosion killed 11 people and injured 17 others, and over 8,000 animals (birds, turtles, mammals) were reported dead just 6 months after the spill, including many that are already on the endangered species list.
Over 30,000 people responded to the spill, working to clean up the coast, take care of animals and perform various other duties.
As of 2012, the Gulf was still polluted with oil.
African American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM), who, today, has announced the documentary’s initial release schedule.
April 18 | NEW YORK | Imagenation RAW Space (Presented by AFFRM partners Imagenation and Urbanworld Film Festival)
April 18 | LOS ANGELES | Downtown Independent
Day 5 of the BP Oil Spill | April 25 | DETROIT | Cinema Detroit
Day 6 of the BP Oil Spill | April 26 | MONTGOMERY | Pure Artistry Literary Cafe
Day 6 of the BP Oil Spill |April 26 | ATLANTA | Morehouse College (Presented by AFFRM partner Bronzelens Film Festival)
Day 7 of the BP Oil Spill | April 27 | SEATTLE | Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute (Presented by AFFRM partner Langston Hughes African American Film Festival)
Day 9 of the BP Oil Spill | April 29 | NEW ORLEANS | Sync Up Cinema
Day 19 of the BP Oil Spill | May 8 | HOUSTON | Houston Museum of African American Culture (Presented by AFFRM partner HMAAC)
Day 28 of the BP Oil Spill | May 17 | AUSTIN | Alamo Drafthouse
Day 30 of the BP Oil Spill |May 19 | WASHINGTON, DC | Anacostia Art Center (Presented by AFFRM partner Parallel Film Collective)
Day 32 of the BP Oil Spill | May 21 | PHILADELPHIA | International House (Presented by AFFRM partner Reelblack)
Day 48 of the BP Oil Spill | June 6 | CHICAGO | DuSable Museum of African American History
Day 52 of the BP Oil Spill | June 10 | BIRMINGHAM | Sidewalk Film Festival
Day 55 of the BP Oil Spill | June 13 | COLUMBIA, SC | The Nickelodeon
Watch a trailer for the film below (poster underneath):
