Flint by Richard Phinney, Sabrina Gordon, Justin Weinstein & Beatrix Wood 

Flint, Michigan was a beaming city until 2010 when the population halved. Due to the closure of General Motors, a large majority left the city meaning it suffered an enormous economic decline leading to numerous changes, including the water supply.

This documentary looks at the people of Flint’s deprivation of clean and safe water. It explores the medical implications of being exposed to contaminated water for years without knowing and how damaging this is will be on a long-term scale. Families noticed rashes, ‘personality changes’ and a decrease in reproductive ability as the Governor of Michigan- Rick Snyder- altered the location that the city’s water was coming from. The documentary follows the volunteer work of the citizens and their fight for a human necessity. As well as the protests and hard work from the volunteers, the film shows scientific procedures and evidence to support the argument. It also dives into the legal element where human rights were questioned.

This documentary is filmed over a period of five years to show how the argument developed and includes many twists and turns that people were not aware about. The viewer is left on a cliff edge with protests still continuing as journalists question whether race and class played a role in this decision to change the water location from the Great Lakes to Flint River. I really enjoyed this documentary and was shocked by everything that happened. I had seen and heard parts of the story but did not realise the scale of the issue until watching this documentary.

Written by Molly Bowler

Flint is screening on Doc/Player as part of Sheffield Doc/Fest 2020