Montrose Pictures are teaming up with one of Hollywood’s key creative forces for its upcoming documentary on the Flint water crisis.
Filmmaker Anthony Baxter confirmed the link-up with Imaginary Forces which has done work on Madmen, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, and the Marvel superhero film franchises, and has just been nominated for three Emmys for their production of Sonic Sea.
The You’ve Been Trumped director made the announcement on Friday in New York during a special screening of 20 minutes of footage less than 200 miles from Flint.
The documentary aims to bring awareness to another complex story described as “one about broken trust and the people who are left to deal with the fallout after the cameras leave”.
David-and-Goliath struggles are nothing new to Mr Baxter, who first brought to the world’s attention the plight of residents in Aberdeenshire battling Donald Trump in the critically acclaimed 2012 film.
With Flint, the Angus director was alerted by local residents to the water crisis unfolding in the small Michigan town months before the story became headline news.
Mr Baxter said: “We thought it important to tell this story from the eyes of the residents, not the politicians and celebrities who come and go in Flint on a regular basis.
“It’s a riveting story about the breakdown of trust, and one that has huge resonance and relevance in today’s America.”
Flint will be released at cinemas and broadcast on television in 2018 and Imaginary Forces’ co-founder Chip Houghton said the story “represents both the best and worst of who we are as a nation”.
“When Anthony came to us with hundreds of hours of extraordinary footage filmed over years, and relayed the responsibility he felt to tell these stories, we were immediately on board,” he said.
“By the time Flint hits movie theatres, it will have been three years in the making.”
Flint boasts a production team with a string of Sundance, BBC and PBS credits to their names.
The editing team is being overseen by Kurt Engfehr, editor on Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine, among many other award-winning films.
Montrose Pictures Creative Partner and Flint producer and writer Richard Phinney added, “We are delighted and honoured to be working with such a brilliant and award-winning creative team as we near the finishing line.”
