From Flint: Voices of a Poisoned City

The factors that caused the recent water crisis in Flint, MI, are fairly well-known: Flint's government decided to save money by switching from a treated-water source to the untreated Flint River. The result was devastating, pushing contaminated water—full of lead and toxins—through taps and fountains into homes, schools, and elsewhere. While children and adults found themselves mysteriously afflicted with rashes, seizures, hair loss, and problems affecting newborns, the city and Michigan state government maintained that Flint's water was safe, and evaded responsibility for poisoning residents while officially covering up data and test results. Filmmaker Elise Conklin's stinging documentary From Flint quickly reprises the situation before getting to its real purpose: meeting and hearing the story from ordinary people among Flint's population of 100,000. These are folks whose families were made seriously ill; whose households received one rationed case of bottled water per day from the city for drinking, cooking, and bathing; and who can't move away from Flint because the homes they own no longer have value. Watching this film is like going to a community meeting and encountering your flesh-and-blood neighbors instead of reading about faceless victims of an unconscionable scandal. Viewers hear from a handful of individuals who are either struggling or trying to help on a number of fronts, a mix that leaves one sickened and outraged, yet also heartened by the organized goodwill of ordinary people. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)