screening tour SCREENING TOUR REPORT 371 PRODUCTIONS APRIL 2015

WISCONSIN’S MINING STANDOFF A L J A Z E E R A A M E R I C A F A U L T L I N E S P R E S E N T S

UW-Stevens Point screening, Sept 2014

“ Six months after the premiere of “Wisconsin’s Mining Standoff” on Al Jazeera America, we’ve coordinated 60+ film screenings across the state, drawing over 3000 audience members.

screening tour WISCONSIN’S MINING STANDOFF

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In June 2014, “Wisconsin’s Mining Standoff” premiered on Al Jazeera America’s award-winning investigative series “Fault Lines,” broadcasting to 40 million homes in the United States. This half-hour documentary produced by 371 Productions tells the story of a West Virginia coal company that rewrote Wisconsin laws, paving the way to dig one of North America’s largest open-pit mines in Wisconsin’s north woods.

After the premiere, 371 Productions received requests for screenings of the film. With the generous support of the

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Paul Fleckenstein Trust, we launched our screening tour, setting a goal of 15 events. Six months after the premiere of “Wisconsin’s Mining Standoff” on Al Jazeera America, we’ve coordinated 60+ film screenings across the state, drawing over 3000 audience members. Each event featured a community discussion, bringing audiences together with environmental experts, government officials, and legal authorities delve into the issue. We partnered with community centers, churches, and colleges, in both small towns and large cities.

tour highlights

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We kicked off the tour at Midwest Renewable Energy Fair in Custer, Wisconsin, showing the film to a packed tent of over 100 people. We then coordinated a series of showings in northern Wisconsin near the proposed mine site, as well as events in Milwaukee, Madison, Eau Claire, Superior, and other cities and towns. As the word spread around the state, we received more requests to show the film. Our largest events in Ashland, Eau Claire, and Stevens Point drew over 200 audience members.

Several events also featured “Protect Our Future,” a half-hour

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documentary by youth from the Bad River Reservation, edited by UW-Madison professor and author Patty Loew.

The tour would not have been possible without our 60+ screening partners, including community groups, universities, and local businesses, who coordinated showings within their communities. We’re grateful to the 25 guest speakers who led lively discussions and deepened people’s understanding of the story, and we thank the Paul Fleckenstein Trust, whose financial support made the tour possible.

60 25 200+ 3000+

screenings in Wisconsin

experts & officials who presented

people at our largest events

people in attendance

Audience at UW-Eau Claire screening, Sept 2014

Above: Locations of the 60+ “Wisconsin’s Mining Standoff”

screenings around Wisconsin

Left: Producers Colin Sytsma and Devon Cupery present at the First

Unitarian Church of Milwaukee JUNE 2014 – DECEMBER 2014

guest speakers

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DAVE BLOUIN, Mining Chair, Sierra Club John Muir Chapter

TIM CULLEN, Former State Senator, District 15

PAUL DEMAIN, Journalist, News from Indian Country

TOM FITZ, Professor of Geology, Northland College

AL GEDICKS, Author and Professor Emeritus, UW-La Crosse

DENNIS GRZEZINSKI , Environmental lawyer

TRACY HAMES, Director, Wisconsin Wetland Association

Our speakers & panelists brought depth to audience discussion, shedding light on environmental, social, economic & legal aspects of the proposed mine.

Thanks to each of our guest speakers:

Ojibwe economist & activist Winona LaDuke Wisconsin Wetlands Association Director Tracy Hames w/ producer Devon Cupery

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BOB JAUCH, Former State Senator, District 25

PHILOMENA KEBEC, Attorney, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission

REBECCA KEMBLE, Journalist, The Progressive

FRANK KOEHN, Penokee Hills Education Project

FAYE & WENDY KOOSMANN, O’Dovero Farm

WINONA LA DUKE, Ojibwe Activist, Economist & Writer

PATTY LOEW, Professor of Life Science Communication, UW-Madison

Paul DeMain, Tom Fitz, Philomena Kebec & Barb With speak at Cable, WI event Bad River Chair Mike Wiggins, Milwaukee, WI

Above: State Senators Dale Schultz and Tim Cullen speak on a panel in Beloit, Wisconsin,

along with Elizabeth Wheeler from Clean Wisconsin and producer Devon Cupery.

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JULIE MINIKEL-LACOCQUE, Assistant Professor, UW-Whitewater

CHARLIE ORTMAN, Ashland County Board member

JOE ROSE, Bad River tribal elder and Professor Emeritus, Northland College

PETE RUSSO, Chair, Ashland County Board

DALE SCHULTZ, Former State Senator, District 17

TOM STOLP, Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters

DANA WACHS, State Representative, District 91

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ELIZABETH WHEELER, Senior Staff Attorney, Clean Wisconsin

MIKE WIGGINS JR., Chair, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

BARBARA WITH, Citizen Journalist

DONA YAHOLA, Bad River Band, Strawberry Moon Singers

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“Wisconsin’s Mining Standoff” premiered on Al Jazeera America’s award-winning investigative documentary series “Fault Lines” in June 2014. Produced and directed by 371 Productions in Milwaukee, the film takes viewers to Wisconsin’s snowy north woods where mining company Gogebic Taconite set off a battle over the state’s natural resources by proposing to dig one of North America’s largest open-pit mines. In March 2013, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed legislation that rewrote the state’s iron mining laws, paving the way for Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) to dig a 4-mile open-pit iron mine in the pristine woods of the Penokee mountain range. This half-hour documentary for Al Jazeera America’s series “Fault Lines” tells the story of how GTAC and its allies wielded money and power to influence the law, and goes behind the scenes with the burgeoning movement to resist the mine. It explores the potential harms the mine might bring, from asbestos exposure to acid runoff into the waterways in the area. “Fault Lines” correspondent Josh Rushing meets the players at the heart of the standoff, visiting a century old family-owned dairy farm that could be impacted by the mine. We hike deep in the woods in the harshest of winters to spend time with the

about the film

tour highlights

update In March 2015, Gogebic Taconite withdrew its application to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and announced that it is dropping plans to mine in northern Wisconsin.

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Chippewa tribes who set up an education and resistance camp to oppose the mine. The Bad River Chippewa tribe, who have lived in the region for generations, raise concerns that acid mine drainage would contaminate the water, fish and wild rice on which they depend. In nearby Iron County, we meet Leslie Kolesar, Chairwoman of the local Mining Impact Committee, who tells “Fault Lines” the mine would bring 700 jobs to a region with high unemployment. “Fault Lines” talks to Wisconsin State Senator Bob Jauch, who tells us how GTAC has ignored its

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critics. We also talk to Bob Seitz, Director of External Affairs for GTAC, who denies allegations that the company had a hand in writing mining legislation and defends the company’s record of environmental and safety violations. It’s an unfolding battle in a pristine wilderness where a tiny county board election attracts money from outsiders like the Koch brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity. This is a story about money versus environmental concerns and a way of life for thousands of local residents. It’s a story ultimately about the state of our democracy.

We’re grateful for the financial support of the Paul Fleckenstein Trust and to our screening partners who coordinated within their communities:

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Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Bad River Watershed Association

Basics Natural Food Store

Beloit College

Beloit Film Festival

Brookfield Public Library

Cable Community Centre

Camp Bar

Central Rivers Farmshed

Citizens Against Longwall Mining

Congregation of the Great Spirit

Congregation Shir Hadash

Congregation Sinai

CORE El Centro

Eau Claire Social Cinema

Edgewood College

First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee

First Universalist Unitarian Church of Wausau

Flyway Film Festival

Gilman Senior Center

Grassroots Tosa

Green Bay Film Festival

Green Bay Film Society

Greenfield Citizens Coalition

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Greens N Grains Café

Growing Power

Harmony Café

Hayward Park Theater

Iron River Community Center

Lake Front Row Madison

Madison Action for Mining Alternatives

Madison Public Library

Many Ways of Peace Center

Marquette University Environmental Film Festival

Mellen Public Library

Midwest Renewable Energy Association

Milwaukee Democratic Party

Milwaukee Sustainability Summit

MORE Healthy Foods

New Berlin Public Library

Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center

Northland College

Penokee Hills Support Committee

Riverwest Public House

Rock County Progressives

Rusk County Community

thank you!

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Library

Siena Retreat Center

Sierra Club John Muir Chapter

Sierra Club Milwaukee

St. John's on the Lake

Tom's Burned Down Cafe

Unitarian Universalist Church of Brookfield

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Door County

University of Iowa

University of Minnesota

Urban Ecology Center

UW-Eau Claire

UW-Madison

UW-Milwaukee

UW-Stevens Point

UW-Superior

UW-Whitewater

Waukesha County Democratic Party

Waukesha County Environmental Action League

Wausau Labor Temple

Westfield Library

Weyauwega Arts Film Festival

Wisconsin Wetlands Association

Credits for 371 Productions:

DIRECTOR: Brad Lichtenstein @bradleylbar SENIOR

PRODUCER: Brad Lichtenstein PRINCIPAL

PHOTOGRAPHY: Jason Longo, Brad Lichtenstein,

Margaret Byrne PRODUCERS: Devon Cupery @dcupery,

Colin Sytsma @ColinSytsma ADDITIONAL

PHOTOGRAPHY: Spencer Chumbley, Robb Fischer,

Colin Sytsma SOUND: Colin Sytsma, Jacob Fatke

EDITOR: Joe Winston WRITTEN BY: Brad Lichtenstein

RESEARCH: Devon Cupery, Colin Sytsma PRODUCTION

ASSISTANCE: Gregory Bishop, Paul Kjelland, Antonio

Vargas

Credits for Fault Lines:

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Mathieu Skene

CORRESPONDENT: Josh Rushing @joshrushing

COMMISSIONING PRODUCER: Lucy Kennedy

@lucymkennedy SENIOR PRODUCER: Carrie Lozano

@carrielozano SENIOR DIGITAL PRODUCER: Kristen

Taylor @kthread DIGITAL PRODUCER: Nikhil

Swaminathan @sw4mi

film credits

We live in a world run through with Fault Lines. Al Jazeera's documentary series “Fault Lines” takes you beyond the headlines and holds the powerful to account, as we examine the US' role in the world.

ABOUT

ABOUT AL JAZEERA AMERICA

Al Jazeera America is the U.S. news channel that provides both domestic and international news for American audiences.

Headquartered in New York City with bureaus in 12 cities across the United States, Al Jazeera America is available in more than 60 million homes in the U.S. across major television providers, including DirecTV, Comcast/Xfinity, Time Warner Cable, DISH Network, AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FiOS, and Bright House Networks.

JOSH RUSHING is a correspondent for Fault Lines, reporting for “Wisconsin’s Mining Standoff” and over two dozen other Fault Lines episodes. Josh has been a leading on-air presence on Al Jazeera English since its launch and has authored Mission Al Jazeera published by Palgrave MacMillan. Prior to joining Al Jazeera, he spent 14 years in the US Marines and was featured in the documentary film Control Room.

In the opening scene of “Wisconsin’s Mining Standoff,” thousands of people

cross frozen Lake Superior to visit the ice caves of Northern Wisconsin.

BRAD LICHTENSTEIN is the president of 371 Productions and the director and senior producer of the Al Jazeera Fault Lines documentary “Wisconsin’s Mining Standoff”. He is an award-winning filmmaker who’s recent film, “As Goes Janesville,” was nominated for a national News and Doc Emmy. Visit 371productions.com to learn about 371’s current projects! DEVON CUPERY is a producer of “Wisconsin’s Mining Standoff,” doing research, background interviews & field production for the film. After the documentary premiered on Al Jazeera America in June 2014, she organized the screening tour, coordinating over 60 film showings around the state. Previously Devon did research for 371’s corporate accountability app “BizVizz”. COLIN SYTSMA is a producer of “Wisconsin’s Mining Standoff.” He did research, field production, sound recording, and additional camera for the documentary, as well as other projects at 371 including “As Goes Janesville”. He’s been working with 371 for five years, currently recording video for When Claude Got Shot, a documentary about gun violence in Milwaukee.

We make documentaries, videos, technology projects, and engagement campaigns that contribute to our common good.

about 371 Productions

371productions.com

cover: O’Dovero Farm, photo by Josh Rushing report / design by Devon Cupery

371productions.com