Libby, montana film receives emmy nomination

A pair of Missoula film-makers have been honored with an Emmy award nomination for their film, “Libby Montana,” which details the plight of the residents of the town. Libby and its residents have suffered greatly from asbestos poisoning caused by W.R. Grace & Company as a result of the vermiculite mine it operated in the area. The documentary, made in 2004 by Doug Hawes-Davis and Drury Gunn Carr of High Plains Films, has been nominated for an Emmy award in the “Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story-Long Form” category. The documentary aired in 2007 on the PBS POV program. The film has gained some highly positive reviews since its release. Critics rate the film highly for its sensitive treatment of Libby residents, and for the voice it provides for the town and those who live there. In the “San Antonio Current,” for example, critics praised the film’s objectivity, and the way in which Doug Hawes-Davis and Carr allowed the story to tell itself. “If the political pressure to prosecute Grace’s executives to the full extent of the law persists, it will be due in part to this deeply moving film. Many critics have praised the “objectivity” of filmmakers Doug Hawes-Davis and Drury Gunn Carr; what they mean is that the directors let the headlines, residents, and Lovick tell the story. This time-tested documentary technique seems fresh in the wake of last year’s much-more-publicized and vocally political Fahrenheit 9/11, but at its root is the recognition that Libby, Montana isn’t a red-state or blue-state story. It is a story about American democracy and American capitalism, and the battle that must constantly be waged to keep the latter from consuming the former.” At the PBS POV web site, quotes from Doug Hawes-Davis and Carr themselves highlight the importance of remembering the story of Libby and the tragedy the town has suffered. Carr said, “Even as we documented the history of the town and the cleanup efforts, the story of Libby took on a larger life as Congress was forced to consider what to do about the millions of homes and other buildings in the U.S. filled with vermiculite from Libby.” And to that, Hawes-Davis added, “Libby is a hardworking, blue-collar community that personifies the American Dream, but the story we had to tell was about the dream gone horribly wrong. Industrialists, politicians, workers and ordinary citizens all play a role in this American tragedy.” The award’s winner will be announced in New York, in September. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)