Doc Talk Show #12: Lost & Found
Curated and Hosted by Jeff Spitz
February 22,  7PM – 9:30PM
Uncommon Ground, 3800 N. Clark St., Chicago
CLICK HERE FOR RESERVATIONS
Join us for an evening of short documentaries and conversation with the filmmakers. Each month Jeff Spitz curates a fresh new lineup of inspiring docs organized around a theme. The evening includes new talent and veteran filmmakers who have the opportunity to interact with live audiences about their films, the issues they raise, and using media to create social change. Screenings include works in progress, finished shorts, and teasers and trailers for longer documentaries.
An intimate evening of food, drink, non-fiction films, filmmakers and real face to face conversation.
Admission is FREE with a suggested donation of $20.
Space is limited. Please reserve your seat in advance!
Doc Talk #12:  “Lost & Found” featured artists/films

• Esau Melendez: JUMPING BEAN CAFÉ
• Devon Gulati: STARGARDT’S DISEASE
• Peter Kuttner: THE END OF THE NIGHTSTICK
• Sharon Zurek: DYKE DELICIOUS
• Ana Garcia Doyle: ONE EARTH FILM FESTIVAL
• Brian Ashby & Scrappers: THE AREA
• Andrew Morgan & Nick Nummerdor: NORTH BRANCH

Myra Rivera (Expungement)

March 23rd, 7 pm – 9 pm, Uncommon Ground-Lakeview (3800 N. Clark)

An eye-opening variety of micro-documentaries with filmmakers, Q&A and discussion on the art and craft of storytelling.  Curated and hosted by Jeff Spitz (Sundance Film Festival honoree and professor of documentary film at Columbia College Chicago), The Doc Talk Show #4: Acts of Courage introduces Chicago filmmakers with new works about unapologetic black female activists; the myth of juvenile records expungement in Illinois; racism in porn; coming out as a lesbian in a catholic high school; a new family history from an old opera; homelessness; a white college student’s surprising encounter with the last residents of Cabrini Green.

Event filmed by Josh Jones and photographed by Kevin Tiongsin from The Doc Unit at Columbia College.

Doc Talk Show #4 features filmmakers:  Liz Kaar (Stranded by the State/Homelessness), Arlen Parsa (The Way to Andina), Myra Rivera (Expungement), Ashley Oshay (Unaplogetic), Jizzell Reyna (Cece’s First), Sharon King (The Skin Game) and Sam Spitz (The Greens).

February 23rd, 7 pm – 9 pm, Uncommon Ground-Lakeview (3800 N. Clark)

An eye-opening variety of micro-documentaries with filmmakers, Q&A and discussion on the art and craft of storytelling.  Curated and hosted by Jeff Spitz (Sundance Film Festival honoree and professor of documentary film at Columbia College Chicago), The Doc Talk Show #3: Acts of Love introduces Chicago filmmakers with new works exploring long distance relationships; child care; fridge families from Viet Nam; Iranian home movies; an Egyptian girl’s blue bra; student filmmakers on the loose in Germany, the legacy of a documentary film teacher and a hometown love letter to Obama.

Doc Talk Show #3 features filmmakers:  Liz Kaar, Ayesha Abouelazm, Ted Hardin, Seth Meyer, Cyrus Stowe, Roberto Espinosa and Tanikia Carpenter.

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT
The Doc Talk Show is a new (FREE) monthly showcase featuring a stunning variety of micro-documentaries with Q&A on the art and craft of storytelling featuring fearless Chicago filmmakers. Events are held the last Thursday of each month.
See the best in creative non-fiction:  2,000 Years of Drag by Dorian Electra.
Sponsored by Groundswell Films and Uncommon Ground.
For information contact: Jeff Spitz (jeff@groundswellfilms.org)
www.groundswellfilms.org
The event is free. Space is limited. Reserve here. The event is adjacent to Uncommon Ground’s organic Green Star Brewery. Order beer, cocktails and from a delicious menu of sustainably raised and organic dishes from your table.

The data pointing to the hazards of our current food system can be alarming, and the stories about it overwhelming. That’s why we took a different approach to storytelling when we created Food Patriots documentary film and Social Impact campaign. We believe that consumer pressure will fix the food system a lot faster than the federal government. So to grow consumer demand for fresh, local, sustainably raised and organic foods, we need to get new people into the conversation about where their food comes from. 

The chart on the left tracks the growth in organic foods measured in billions of dollars spent by consumers. On the right is the growth in the number of people who said that they buy organic food. (While Food Patriots takes a larger view of Good Food, the organic data available from USDA is emblematic of the overall national trend.) So If we are going to really move the needle, we need to get more people thinking about where their food comes from. We need to focus on growing the chart on the right.
Back in 2012, when we started working on Food Patriots, most of the Food Films and articles about the food system scared the bejeezus out of me. This approach worked for me, and obviously about 40 million other people, but what about everyone else?
I don’t know about you, but when I tell my friends and family all the scary things I know about our food, and what I think they should eat, they usually roll their eyes and get really annoyed with me. I was living this struggle every day with my husband and teenage sons.
That’s why we needed a different approach. Instead of the hard core exposé, Food Patriots uses a personal approach, a sense of humor and tells a conversion story that people can relate to.
We have developed what we call The Groundswell Model to engage the public in a story. We have used this model successfully with several other films. It works. The key is to engage other stakeholders, reach people in places where they are, connect them to a movement, and involve them in moving the needle. Here’s what the Groundswell Model looks like.

We released Food Patriots in February 2014. We have presented over 400 live screening events, earned dozens of media stories and tens of millions of media impressions. We’ve partnered with brands and advocacy organizations, schools, faith organizations, libraries, health departments, corporate wellness programs, farmers’ markets and retailers. The result is that consumer demand is increasing AND industry is changing.
Last summer I met Kora Lazarski from SPINS. They are a data company that tracks Natural, Specialty, Wellness, and Conventional products across all US.  With SPINS data we can see the impact that stories have on consumer behavior. For example, in October 2015, the World Health Organization came out with a widely publicized study that showed the eating bacon increases the risk of cancer. Data shows a precipitous drop in bacon sales the week the story hit, and for a few weeks hence. But when the story faded from the news, bacon habits resumed. Persistence is important!
With businesses tuned into consumer trends, we have seen giants like Campbell’s, ConAgra, General Mills, Mars and Kellogg’s choose to voluntarily label GMOs. Restaurants are increasingly advertising meat raised without antibiotics, and producers are adjusting to fulfill increased demand.
The pressure is finally being felt at the top. In a letter, investors representing over $1 Trillion in assets urged fast food chains in the US and Great Britain to act to reduce farm antibiotics. The letter said,

“As stewards of these food companies and responsible investors, we want to protect both human health and shareholder value.”

Jeremy Coller of Coller Capital who instigated the letter told The Guardian.“The world is changing, regulation on antibiotic use is set to tighten, and consumer preferences are shifting away from factory-farmed food.”
Are Food Patriots winning? Not yet. But we’ve definitely made some big gains. We need to keep up the work and each do our part to keep the conversation going.
If you would like to book a screening or speaker for an event at your school, workplace, faith group, college or community group, please fill out the form here and we will get in touch.

Food Patriots is a project of Groundswell Educational Films. We are a non-profit organization that is sustained by generous donations, mostly from individuals. All donations are 100% tax deductible.

Food Patriots

 
 
 

Although we have plenty of criticism of  Kony 2012 video,  it offers important lessons about HOW documentary can contribute to social change.  As storytellers, we know the power of the specific to illuminate a larger social problem, and the power of one voice to make a difference. Groundswell works collaboratively and uses film as a vehicle for people to tell their own stories across cultures.  We’ve had a lot of success in moving policymakers and people to take action — see www.navajoboy.com. But with Kony 2012, the voice of the ‘other’ is silent. They never speak.  Everything about Kony 2012 is from the outside in. Looking beyond the controversy,  I want to learn from the success of the campaign  and try to understand what makes it work.
First,  they made the issue super simple (deceptively simple?).  In this instance, it seems irresponsible, but in general, simpler messages work best. In our Return of Navajo Boy campaign, when we spoke of Elsie’s house made of Uranium rock, it brought tons of media and a federal response.  The Uranium house opened the door to a much larger and deeper examination of the issues of uranium contamination on the Navajo Reservation.  A deeper look into the LRA is probably not the intent of Kony 2012, and neither the film or the campaign are attracting those who might be so inclined. Get the bad guy is a pretty simple concept, and it appeals to millions.
Another observation is that the filmmakers broke the fourth wall. The filmmakers are visible, they tell their story from their own perspective, and their objective is clear from the outset.  This seems important.  We are experimenting with this transparency in our newest film, Food Patriots (www.foodpatriots.com), and I have to admit, being in the film feels mighty uncomfortable. We didn’t put ourselves much in www.RobbinIslandSingers.com, and people were confused about Groundswell’s role. They seldom understood that the Singing group and education project were our doing, and could understand even less our motivation for doing it.  The manner that Russell expresses his point of view is repulsive to some, but the folks he’s trying to reach identify with his western perspective and his motive, so in that regard, he’s right on his target.
Another observation is that we see ourselves in this film and we like our reflection. “We” are the privileged, the tech-savvy, and the social media using audience. We have the power to be a savior, to wear the white hat, and to get instant recognition among our friends.  The film is not about Kony, the LRA , the generations of child soldiers, ,orphans, or even Jacob. Its about us;  the power we can wield with a click of a finger, and the power we can influence if we all click together.
Kony 2012 emboldens my belief in Groundswell’s mission, and in the possibilities for documentary to truly influence social change.  There are so many incredible filmmakers out there making media that can make a difference — Kartemquin Films,  Siskel/Jacobs Productions, and even veterans like Michael Moore. Kony 2012 gives us all lessons we can use to re-activate the films we have made, and to borrow from elements that spawned success here to make our future work even more effective at moving audiences to take action.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jennifer Amdur Spitz (773) 771-7696 jennifer@groundswellfilms.org

Filmmaker and Navajo activist invited to teach tribal environmental leaders how to build new groundswells for action

GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN — An internationally acclaimed documentary film, The Return of Navajo Boy tells a Navajo family history involving Hollywood, houses made out of uranium, and a long lost boy. The film and public engagement campaign are credited with triggering a federal investigation into uranium poisoning, pressuring changes in federal legislation, and after a decade of persistence, inspiring the EPA to clean up uranium contamination at Elsie Begay’s home. Now, the Navajo activists and filmmakers are bringing their media justice experience to other tribal environmental activists at the Tribal Lands and Environment Forum in Green Bay, WI.

“While everyone is talking about Japan’s radiation crisis, the Navajo Nation is struggling to secure a federal clean up of Cold War uranium contamination,” says Spitz. “Navajos are dying of cancer at high rates, and we’re working with new media tools to fight for environmental justice.”

Since the film’s premier at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, filmmaker Jeff Spitz and Navajo grandmother and activist Elsie May Begay have criss-crossed the nation showing the film and telling the story. Spitz raises awareness through the media, websites, and live events by working through Groundswell Educational Films, the Chicago-based nonprofit he co-founded. Groundswell enables Navajo activists to film the clean up with video cameras and travel around the reservation educating peers on health issues surrounding uranium.

Sparked by the success of this advocacy effort, tribal leaders invited Groundswell Films and Navajo activist Mary Begay to present the keynote at the 2011 Tribal Lands and Environment Forum on August 23rd in Green Bay, Wisconsin. This special presentation of The Return of Navajo Boy, an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival and PBS will include a ‘webisode’ about the clean up taking place at this time in Monument Valley.

Navajo activist Mary Begay will introduce the film, its recent epilogue and new webisodes which she filmed. Groundswell co-founder Jennifer Amdur Spitz will share Groundswell’s methodology for media and social change. In addition, Groundswell is bringing attorney John Hueston, formerly the lead prosecutor in the Enron trials to discuss “Potentially Responsible Party” lawsuits involving major corporations and their environmental legacies. On behalf of the Navajo Nation Hueston successfully negotiated with GE and then pursued Kerr-McGee resulting in more than $20 million in new funds targeted for cleaning up Cold War-era uranium contamination in the Navajo Nation. Over 500 more abandoned uranium mines remain on the Navajo Reservation.

“Members of our tribal steering committee had seen this documentary at other venues and believed showing it at our forum would make a wonderful addition to breakout sessions and trainings,” said Todd Barnell, Program Coordinator at the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals. “They believed that showing a local issue that highlights community-level involvement would be exciting and thought-provoking for our attendees.” The Tribal Lands and Environment Forum brings together tribal and federal employees working in solid waste, brownfields, Superfund sites, underground storage tanks, and emergency response. The Forum convenes at the Oneida Tribe’s Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Green Bay, from August 23rd – 25th.

BACKGROUND

The 27,000 square miles of the Navajo Nation contain the largest uranium deposits in the US and more than 500 abandoned Cold War era uranium mines according to the US EPA, which continue to contaminate land, water and homes and impact the health of residents.

• 1950s-1970s: The US government failed to warn Navajos about the dangers of uranium mining and radioactive waste despite the fact that the United States government was the sole purchaser of all the uranium.
• In 1990 Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). RECA represents an official government apology to victims of America’s Cold War nuclear program. RECA expressly acknowledges the United States’ failure to warn three groups of victims: uranium miners, on-site atomic test victims and downwind communities exposed to fallout from the atomic bomb tests.
• In 2005 the Navajo Nation became the first indigenous government to ban uranium mining and exploration on its lands.
• In 2006 and 2007 Congress, led by Henry Waxman (D-California, Chair of the Budget and Government Oversight Committee) sought direct testimony from Navajo officials and demanded a plan of action from the five federal agencies responsible for what Waxman described as a “40 year history of bipartisan failure and a modern American tragedy”.
• In 2008 Congress authorized a comprehensive 5-year plan to coordinate the clean up of contaminated structures, soil and water in the Navajo Nation. This summer marks the fourth year of the EPA’s comprehensive clean up plan.
• In April 2011 US EPA began its clean up operation in Monument Valley at the abandoned Skyline Mine which contaminated the homesite of the Navajo family featured in The Return of Navajo Boy.

About Groundswell: Groundswell Educational Films is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization with a mission to collaborate across cultures in the art of documentary filmmaking, transfer media skills into disadvantaged communities and partner with stakeholders to engage audiences in social justice stories.

About 2011 Tribal Lands Forum: Tribal Lands and Environment: A National Forum on Solid Waste, Emergency Response, Contaminated Sites, and USTS is hosted by The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals, National Tribal Waste and Response Assistance Program (TWRAP) Steering Committee and USEPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER).

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After thirteen years of film screenings, events, conferences, and relentless advocacy, clean up of Skyline Mine begins in Monument Valley Utah. The family living below the mine is the subject of Return of Navajo Boy, the streak on the mesa behind their family home piqued filmmaker Jeff Spitz’s interest to find out more about the old abandoned uranium mine overhead.

Click through to read yesterday’s front page article in the Salt Lake Tribune.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Japan struggles to contain radioactive contamination, Groundswell is reminding Americans that over a thousand abandoned Cold War-era uranium mines still contaminate the American Southwest. The US Department of Energy will feature The Return of Navajo Boy project as a case study in film, media, public engagement and measurable impacts at its State of Environmental Justice Conference on April 28th and 29th in Washington, DC. This month, the US Environmental Protection Agency began clean up at Skyline Mine, the site featured in the documentary.
Since 2000, when the film’s cautionary tale stunned Sundance Film Festival audiences, Groundswell Educational Films has brought it and Navajo activists across the country to advocate for a clean up of radioactive waste in the Navajo Nation. The filmmaker, Jeff Spitz, and Navajo participants triggered a federal investigation into uranium houses. Many Navajos, including the grandmother in the film, Elsie Mae Begay, built their homes with uranium rocks from the abandoned mines. The US government failed to warn Navajos about the dangers of radioactive waste.
Decades after ceasing operations, the radiation from more than 1,000 abandoned uranium mines continues to impact homes, livestock, land, and water across the 27,000 square mile reservation. The Navajo Nation is home to approximately 200,000 people. It holds the largest uranium deposits in the United States and suffers from the highest cancer rates in the Southwest region.
Partially as a response to the Groundswell advocacy campaign, the US Environmental Protection Agency has now begun to clean up the area around the abandoned Skyline Mine, including Elsie Mae Begay’s yard spotlighted in the documentary. This month tractors and heavy equipment rolled into Elsie’s yard eleven years after the film’s debut.
“Americans have been rightfully horrified by the unfolding nuclear disaster in Japan. But we forget that there is highly dangerous radioactive waste poisoning communities right here in America,” said Groundswell co-founder Jeff Spitz, who directed the film. “This clean up of the Skyline Mine and Elsie Begay’s yard offers a ray of hope to other families living in remote areas hoping for the same attention. We show how to get it.”
Groundswell’s unique model of film and public awareness campaign empowers Navajos to get attention by equipping them with Flip video cameras, multi-media tools, and opportunities to speak at film events, conferences, on campuses, and in the media nationwide. Navajos upload footage and Groundswell edits short videos that allow thousands of followers to stay engaged in the story unfolding online at navajoboy.com/webisodes.
“Using our own video cameras to document what we are struggling with every day gives us hope that the world has not forgotten about us. It gives us a voice,” said Mary Helen Begay, Elsie’s daughter in law and creator of two recent webisodes. “Our hearts go out to the people of Japan. We hope that they won’t have to live with radioactive waste as we have for more than 50 years now.”
About Groundswell: Groundswell Educational Films is a nonprofit organization with a mission to collaborate cross-culturally in all facets of documentary filmmaking, transfer media skills into disadvantaged communities, and partner with stakeholders to leverage changes that address the social justice issues raised in our films.

Groundswell’s Return of Navajo Boy film will be featured at the US Department of Energy’s State of Environmental Justice Conference in Washington DC. The film will screen Thursday 4/28 at 3:30PM.
Friday morning, Groundswell Filmmaker Jeff Spitz and Navajo participants will discuss how they used media, live events, advocacy and persistence to leverage real change in public policy that is bringing environmental justice to the Navajo reservation.

Three of the 19 Wisconsin Republican State Senators annually applied for and received direct farm subsidies from the federal government.  These are the same people who want government spending limited, apparently except when it comes to their own welfare checks.

• Sheila Harsdorf of the 10th District, is 50% owner in Trim-bel Valley Farms in River Falls WI, received payments totaling $194,763 from 1995 through 2009.
• Luther Olsen of the 14th District, 20% owner in Riverview Farm, received payments totaling $84,232 from 1999 through 2009
• Dale Schultz of the 17th District received payments totaling $61,171 from 2000 through 2009 for a farm in Richland Center, WI

The three Republican Senators applied for, and received taxpayer funded subsidies in the categories below:

• Direct payments are paid at a set rate every year regardless of conditions.
• Counter-cyclical payments are triggered when market prices fall below certain thresholds.
• A new revenue assurance program provides for overall profitability for a given crop.
• Marketing loans offer very favorable terms whereby farmers can realize tremendous gains through loan deficiency payments (LDPs) and commodity certificates.
• Disaster payments recoup large losses due to natural phenomena. And the government subsidizes crop insurance, paying 100% of the premium, to further insulate farmers from risk. (Meanwhile the same legislators oppose the government subsidized health insurance for their neediest constituents.)
• Conservation Subsidies – this is a pork barrel payment to ‘retired’ farmers who own land and don’t grow anything at all. Taxpayers handed out about $6,000 each year since 2000 to Sen. Schultz for his idle acres.

It is important to note, not all Wisconsin farmers look to the government for handouts. According to the USDA, 40% of  eligible Wisconsin farmers did not collect farm subsidy checks. For more detailed definitions of the subsidies, visit http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/agriculture/subsidies.
While our nation struggles to right itself from the economic decline, we need to take a good hard look at our representatives in state and federal government, and hold them accountable for the government spending policies that they support. It is no secret that the farm subsidy system in this country is hideously broken, that the food system is endangering our health and that the agriculture lobby is formidable. While corporations are citizens in the eyes of the Supreme Court, they do not have the right to vote (yet).  Instead of focusing on gutting worker’s rights and cutting teacher pay, how about restructuring the farm bill. It will free up billions for health care and education, and lead to a food system where wholesome foods are cost competitive with the processed crap we subsidize.
To look up representatives in your area, check out this database http://farm.ewg.org/, the last item on the menu on the left side allows you to search by name.
For further information and definitions about farm subsidies, visit http://farm.ewg.org/subsidyprimer.php
Update: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Senator Michael Ellis was among the Wisconsin State Senators who received farm subsidies.

Groundswell Co-Founders and The Robben Island Singers have incorporated a new company in South Africa called Groundswell Cultural Activists CC.
The new company will book Robben Island Singers concerts, film screenings and education programs in South Africa and manage school exchanges between South African and American youth. Our initial focus is to promote the Robben Island Singers as part of the cultural and heritage programming during World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa 2010.
Members include Muntu Nxumalo, Grant Shezi, Thembinkosi Sithole, Jeff Spitz and Jennifer Amdur Spitz.

Groundswell Educational Films issued the following press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 24, 2008
Documentary about Navajo Family Exposes the Human Cost of Nuclear Waste Contamination, Triggers Investigation and Warnings about Nuclear Dangers
WASHINGTON D.C. — While the nation is abuzz with talk of energy independence and nuclear reactors, the legacy of cold war uranium mining remains an open wound that literally continues to poison residents of the Navajo Nation.
A Navajo grandmother, who is a main character in the documentary The Return of Navajo Boy, came to Capitol Hill today, to share her story with congressional leaders in a screening hosted by Tom Udall (D-NM), Rick Renzi (R-AZ), Jim Matheson (D-UT) and Navajo Nation’s Washington Office. “I was an extra in Hollywood western movies and a nameless Navajo Girl in postcards. There are thousands of pictures of my family and me. But we never got a chance to say anything. Until now,” said Navajo grandmother, Elsie Mae Begay. “I want people to know how uranium has affected us. That’s why I travel with the film.”
The film will be screened with a new epilogue that documents Ms. Begay’s courageous journey with the film. The screening and discussion will be held Sept. 24, 3-5 PM, Cannon House Office Building, Room 122. The event is free and open to the public. A second free public screening is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 25, 6-8 PM at Georgetown Law, Gewirz Student Center, 12th floor, 120 F Street, NW (between 1st and 2nd Streets). Several lawmakers and high-ranking officials from the EPA, Department of Energy and other government offices are expected to attend the screening.
The Return of Navajo Boy was produced and directed by Jeff Spitz of Groundswell Educational Films. Groundswell’s outreach campaign triggered a federal investigation of uranium houses. Ms. Begay’s story, picked up by Los Angeles Times, motivated Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) to bring the issue to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform which mandated a clean-up plan by the five federal agencies that are responsible for uranium contamination. “This has been a bi-partisan failure for 40 years,” said Congressman Waxman at the opening of the hearings.
Ironically, the Comprehensive Five-Year Plan, issued jointly last month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, does not include Ms. Begay’s homestead.
“Ms. Begay tells her story through this film, which creates a pathway for people outside her culture to connect with her,” explained Groundswell co-founder, Jeff Spitz. “We book the film and Ms. Begay in public screenings to open doors for face-to-face contact with reporters, academics, funders, policymakers and others who can help make a difference in addressing radiation clean up on Navajo lands.”
“We need people in Washington to realize the enormity of the problem,” said Dave Taylor, an attorney for the Navajo Department of Justice. “We are grateful for the attention Congressman Waxman has brought to this issue, however follow up on the ground has been minimal. We need a permanent solution, not band-aids. The waste needs to be dug up and put into safe repositories.”
“Groundswell’s approach to advocacy shows how one story can ripple into another and keep moving on to cause change,” said Judy Pasternak, the LA Times reporter who wrote the four-part series about uranium poisoning on the reservation. Ms. Pasternak met Elsie Begay at a Groundswell screening. Ms. Begay’s story of raising her family in a house made from uranium became the framework for the opening piece of Pasternak’s investigative series about uranium.
The Return of Navajo Boy is one example of Groundswell Educational Film’s non- profit mission. Groundswell gives voice to those often overlooked by mainstream media; uses film to initiate cross-cultural dialogue; creates public engagement campaigns; and build alliances with stakeholders to achieve social change. “ We will continue to film this journey until Ms. Begay’s uranium situation is resolved,” Spitz added. To learn more about Groundswell’s work on this and other projects, visit www.groundswellfilms.org.
For more than four decades, Navajo Nation soils were dug and blasted to produce millions of tons of uranium for America’s nuclear arsenal. Residents today still breathe radioactive dust, drink contaminated water and live in homes contaminated by radiation. There are nearly 1000 abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo reservation.
Additional screening co-hosts include National Resource Defense Council, Georgetown Environmental Law Society, Georgetown Law, Georgetown American Constitution Society and the Raben Group. The Bradshaw-Knight Foundation sponsored the events and epilogue.
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Update: Watch a video from The Return of Navajo Boy Capitol Hill screening event.