New Fracking Documentary Starts National Tour in Ohio
A new documentary, Triple Divide, investigates the impacts of fracking
for shale gas in Pennsylvania, and is headed to the Heartland this
September for the Ohio Triple Divide Tour: 10 dates in 10 locations.
It’s the beginning of a national tour covering eight states in shale
plays across the U.S.
Academy Award nominated actor Mark Ruffalo co-narrates the film,
taking part in the project after being shown an online screener a few
weeks before the final release.
Triple Divide is said to be the only documentary of its kind on the
controversial subject of fracking capable of speaking to all sides,
with exclusive interviews from the industry, experts, and Americans
suffering in the wake of shale gas development.
“It’s hard to imagine anyone could have a fully-informed opinion about
fracking without seeing Triple Divide,” said Jed Thorp of the Ohio
Sierra Club.
The evidence in Triple Divide is built on cradle-to-grave
investigations throughout the film’s 10 chapters, which cover waste,
injection wells, drinking water contamination, split-estates, the
“pre-drill test scandal”, and the “pressure bulb” to name a few. The
90-minute documentary is a project by PublicHerald.org, a nonprofit
organization co-founded by journalists Joshua Pribanic & Melissa
Troutman, who are also the film’s co-directors.
Pribanic is an Ohio native, who says the tour is an educational
opportunity for all communities. “Audiences should expect to see
things they've never witnessed or heard before,” remarked Pribanic.
“We offer raw data and evidence from the field, something that's
neither republican nor democrat.”
Hard-hitting, Triple Divide is also fair. The Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) is highlighted in the film for
weakly enforced regulations, but “the head of ‘Oil & Gas’ at DEP,
Scott Perry, told me he's seen the film and it’s very well done,” said
Troutman. “This attests to Public Herald's journalistic integrity and
ability to reach both ends of the public spectrum: community members
and heads of state.
“Triple Divide is a springboard for discussion about the real impacts
from fracking, and it’s a forewarning for states like Ohio, New York
and California.”
Troutman hails from the triple continental divide in Potter County,
Pennsylvania where much of the documentary is set. It’s also where the
most highly regulated classified streams are located but have been
damaged by fracking — a story documented in the “Exceptional Value”
chapter of the film.
The tour launches in Columbus, OH on September 10th, 7:00PM at the
Gateway Film Center, hosted by the Ohio Environmental Council. On
September 12, the filmmakers travel to Mansfield, OH for a free 6:00PM
show at Relax It’s Just Coffee, with eight additional screenings
before the month’s end, closing out the tour in Sandusky, OH at
Harlequins Community Theatre — the oldest running community theatre in
the state.
For a detailed list of screening times and locations for the Ohio
Triple Divide Tour, see
tripledividefilm.org/screenings. Email Melissa@publicherlad.org and Joshua@publicherald.org, or call
(419) 202-8503 for more information and to schedule interviews with
the filmmakers.
For photographs and stills from the film:
flic.kr/s/aHsjE3Tb8F
Trailer:
vimeo.com/ondemand/tripledivide/63571188
Reviews:
tripledividefilm.org/about/reviews/
The filmmakers have made one chapter “Good Neighbor” available for
online preview:
vimeo.com/publicherald/goodneighbor
*Based on our experiences as journalists in the shale fields, the term
‘fracking’ has transformed from a nickname for the process of
hydraulic fracturing to meaning the complete picture of shale gas
extraction. See Public Herald’s “What is Fracking?” video for a
simplified explanation of the concept behind the practice.
PUBLIC HERALD
t r u t h + c r e a t i v i t y
Joshua B. Pribanic, Editor-in-Chief
p: 419.202.8503
t: @jbpribanic
Melissa Troutman, Managing Editor
p: 724.388.0464
t: @melissat22
