Press Notes - The Human Experiment

 Press Notes Area 23a and FilmBuff present
“The Human Experiment” to Hit Theaters and VOD
Platforms on April 17, Leading up to Earth Day
Directed by Emmy®-winning journalists Don Hardy and Dana Nachman,
Narrated and Executive Produced by Academy Award®-winner Sean Penn
Opening in theaters New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC and
other major markets
Trailer: http://thehumanexperimentmovie.com
Publicity: Adam J. Segal of The 2050 Group (202) 422-­‐4673 or [email protected] With thousands of untested chemicals in our everyday products, have we all become
unwitting guinea pigs in one giant human experiment? The powerful and inspiring new
documentary The Human Experiment goes behind the scenes in the fight to protect us
from these toxic products before they cause irrevocable harm to our health.
The Human Experiment is directed and produced by Emmy Award®-winning journalists
and filmmakers Dana Nachman and Don Hardy (Witch Hunt, Love Hate Love and the
forthcoming Slamdance docu Batkid). Their prior films premiered at the Toronto
International Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival and were broadcast on MSNBC and The
Oprah Winfrey Network. The filmmakers have teamed up with Area23a, an event based
theatrical distribution company for a unique hybrid theatrical release through a combination
of special event screenings and traditional theatrical run to coincide with Earth Day. New
York-based distribution company FilmBuff will simultaneously release the film on all major
VOD platforms nationwide including Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, iTunes, Sony
PlayStation, Vudu and Xbox Video.
Academy Award®-winning actor and filmmaker Sean Penn (Milk, Mystic River) is
executive producer and narrator of the film, as he was on Nachman and Hardy’s prior awardwinning documentary, Witch Hunt. This marks the third collaboration for Nachman, Hardy
and Penn. Penn has devoted much of his career to urgent international causes and in January
of 2010, shortly after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the nation of Haiti, Penn
established the J/P Haitian Relief Organization (J/P HRO).
Synopsis: What if the greatest chemical disaster of our time didn’t involve oil spills or
nuclear meltdowns? Instead, it was much lower levels of exposure, inflicted over several
generations and affecting every person on the planet. The result: Rising rates of everything
from cancer to infertility. This is the shocking reality explored in The Human
Experiment, a gripping look at the personal costs associated with the chemicals in our
most common household products.
The film follows a band of unlikely activists who are fighting back. Ranging from Howard,
a conservative businessman, to Maria, a Latina house cleaner, they are staking their lives
on this battle to protect our health. And their opposition is goliath. The powerful and wellfunded chemical industry is heavily invested in maintaining the status quo, pulling unseen
strings to create an aura of skepticism and confusion.
It’s an emotionally and politically charged showdown and the stakes couldn’t be higher –
for these activists on the front lines and for every one of us.
About the Film Subjects – In Order of Appearance: Photos Appear Below Names/Bios Marika Holmgren is a breast cancer survivor. She volunteers her time with The Breast Cancer Fund. BCF’s mission is to prevent Breast Cancer and to connect the dots between Breast Cancer and exposure to chemicals in everyday environments. Dr. William Goodson is a surgical oncologist at the California Pacific Medical Center and has 30 years of experience with the Diagnosis and Care of Breast Cancer. Dr. Tracey Woodruff is the director of UCSF’s program on reproductive health and the environment. Her research interests are figuring out how to reduce the impacts of environmental contaminants on reproductive and developmental health. Jenn Canvasser is an environmental health organizer at the Ecology Center who is working with the Michigan Network for Children’s Environmental Health. Jen tells the very personal story of her struggles with infertility in the film and how she and her husband Noah work on behalf of their family and others who battle with with infertility. Dr. Irva Hertz-­Picciotto is involved in the UC Davis Mind institute, which is a collaborative international research center, committed to the awareness, understanding, prevention, care, and cures of neurodevelopmental disorders. Hannah Cary is involved politically as a disability policy advocate for the autism society. She comes to this issue from a personal place. Her brother Benjamin is significantly impacted with Autism. It is for him that she does this work. Dr. Megan Schwarzman is a physician and research scientist at the University of California School of Public Health. She is involved with Green Chemistry and chemicals policy while also researching the production, use, and disposal of chemicals and how they impact humans and the environment. Dr. David Rosner focuses on research at the intersection of public health and social history and the politics of occupational disease and industrial pollution. He works with the Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health at Columbia University. Jim Jones works at the Environmental Protection Agency. He is responsible for managing the office that implements the nation’s pesticide, toxic chemical, and pollution prevention laws. Senator Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat, was the oldest senator and last World War II veteran in the United States Senate. Senator Lautenberg worked tirelessly on the issue of toxic chemicals and their impact on health. Senator Lautenberg passed away in June 2013. Dr. Joseph Guth is a Research Scientist. He has worked on this issue in numerous capacities including at the School of Public Health and Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry at the University of California Berkeley. He also works to achieve comprehensive reform of chemicals policy in California and in the United States. Susanne Rust is an investigative reporter for The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR). In her last three years at the Journal Sentinel, she focused much of her reporting on dangerous chemicals. Dr. Patricia Hunt works with Washington State University and focuses her research on mammalian germ cells. Her research has shown that In the human female the incidence of pregnancy loss due to chromosome abnormalities is extraordinarily high. Dr. Stanton Glantz is a Professor of Medicine at UCSF. He conducts research on the effects of secondhand smoke on the heart. He is an expert on tobacco industry tactics aimed at fighting tobacco control programs. Dr. Robert Proctor is a History of Science Professor at Stanford University. He specializes in 20th century science, technology, and medicine. Laurie Valeriano has worked for Washington Toxics Coalition since 1995. She has worked to pass strong environmental health policies at the state level for more than 15 years. During those years she has led successful campaigns to make Washington the first state in the nation to ban the toxic flame retardant, deca (PBDE), and adopt the strongest standards in the nation for toxic chemicals in toys and children's products. Dr. Arlene Blum is a biophysical chemist who works for the Green Science Policy Institute. Her research contributed to the regulation of two cancer-­‐causing flame retardants used in children’s sleepwear in the 1970s. Stacy Malkan is the co-­‐founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, an organization working to eliminate dangerous chemicals from makeup and personal care products. Luz Romero is the operations manager for Emma's Eco-­‐Clean which is a house cleaning co-­‐op that only uses green products. Jessica Assaf first started volunteering with the Marin cancer project as a teen and is one of the founding members of Teens Turning Green. After graduating from NYU Jessica started working at a green skin care line called SW Basics. She is the company’s VP of Sales. Dr. Marty Mulvihill is the Associate Director if Education and Outreach at the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry. He also is a chemist for Occupational and Environmental health. Joyce Stein is an RN at the University of Michigan Neonatal Intensive care unit. She is the president of Southeastern Michigan Associating of Neonatal Nurses, and is a member of the Heath Policy and Advocacy Committee. Senator Mark Leno is the State Senator for District 11 in California. He is a strong advocate in the legislature for eliminating toxic flame retardant chemicals. Michael Potter is the President and co-­‐
founder of Eden Foods. He acts as an official Advisor to the Director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture on matters pertaining to organic food production. Howard Williams is the Vice President of Construction Specialties, a small multinational manufacturing company. His company follows consensus-­‐based best practices that have expanded beyond the early concerns about the off-­‐gassing of chemicals, to further reducing exposure by eliminating PBTs. Geert Dancet is the Executive Director if the European Chemicals Agency. Esa Nikunen is the Director of the Chemical Product Surveillance in Finland. Maria Cruz has been a non-­‐toxic house cleaners 12 years working for Emma's Eco-­‐
Clean. About the Filmmakers: Dana Nachman (Co-­Director/Producer/Writer) Dana Nachman is the co-­‐founder of KTF Films. Dana’s first independent documentary, Witch Hunt, opened to sell-­‐out crowds at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2008. The film was narrated and executive produced by two-­‐
time Oscar-­‐winner Sean Penn and went on to win several film festival awards, including the Audience Award at Cinequest and the Grand Jury Prize at the Washington DC Independent Film Festival, before being purchased by MSNBC Films. Through a combination of national broadcasts on MSNBC, DVD sales and rentals through iTunes and Netflix, Witch Hunt has now been seen by more than 6 million people. Dana’s second feature-­‐length documentary, Love Hate Love, had its World Premiere at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. The film received critical acclaim and was selected by the festival to participate in the Tribeca Youth Screening Series, where it was shown to hundreds of NYC public school students. The film was selected based on its educational relevance as well as its cinematic merits. Love Hate Love premiered on the Oprah Winfrey Network in March of 2012. Prior to directing independent documentary films, Dana spent 13 years producing, directing, and writing for television news. At the NBC affiliate in the San Francisco Bay Area, Dana won nearly every major award television news has to offer, including multiple Emmy® awards, the Edward R. Murrow award, the Associated Press award and the Radio and Television News Director Association award. In addition to filmmaking, Dana keeps busy on the home front with two daughters and a son. Don Hardy (Co-­
Director/Producer/Cinematographer/Editor) Don Hardy is the co-­‐founder of KTF Films, a documentary production company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His films, Witch Hunt, Love Hate Love, and The Human Experiment have played to sold-­‐out audiences at prestigious film festivals and have been seen by millions of people around the world. 2014 was a busy year for Don. In addition to finishing The Human Experiment, he also served as Director of Photography on Batkid Begins. Both films are scheduled to be released in 2015. Don is currently hard at work on a new film, Theory of Obscurity, about the avant-­‐
garde music and art collective known as The Residents. Over the years, Don has won numerous awards for his films, photography, and editing including 6 Emmys, 3 Edward R. Murrow Awards, 7 Associated Press Awards, the prestigious San Francisco Bay Area Photographer of the Year Award and more than 15 National Press Photographer Association Awards. Sean Penn (Executive Producer/Narrator) Academy Award®-­‐winning actor and filmmaker Sean Penn (Milk, Mystic River) is executive producer and narrator of the film, as he was on Nachman and Hardy’s prior award-­‐winning documentary, Witch Hunt. This marks the third collaboration for Nachman, Hardy and Penn. Penn has devoted much of his career to urgent international causes and in January of 2010, shortly after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the nation of Haiti, Penn established the J/P Haitian Relief Organization (J/P HRO). Ashvini Bhave` (Executive Producer) Ashvini Bhave` is respected in India and amongst the Indian diaspora as a versatile actress in theater, television, and cinema. Her acting career has spanned over 40 films with several critically acclaimed performances in films such as Kalat Nakalat, Ahuti, Ashi hi banawa banvi, Bhairavi, Purush and the blockbuster film Heena by R.K productions. Besides receiving a degree in Motion picture and Television from Academy of Arts University, San Francisco, she also has a degree in philosophy from University of Mumbai. Ashvini has won several Best Actress and Critics’ awards and is regarded as an actor of substance. She penned a popular column in the leading Marathi daily Loksatta for many years. She made her first documentary film Warli art and culture, about an endangered tribal art, in 2002. It screened at the Mumbai International Film Festival. In 2007 she produced her first feature film Kadachit and received accolades for her gripping performance as the protagonist. She lives in California with her husband and two children. Chelsea Matter (Producer) Chelsea Matter is an independent documentary producer. She has worked on films that have screened at Sundance, Tribeca and IDFA. Chelsea was the associate producer on the documentary, Love Hate Love (2011), which received the Spirit Award at the Artivist Film Festival and the Best Directing Award at DocUtah and had its US television broadcast on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Chelsea also worked as a field producer on the documentary Inequality for All (2013), which won a Special Jury Award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. In addition to producing The Human Experiment, Chelsea is currently line producing a new documentary about the legend of Evel Knievel for A&E IndieFilms and she is producing an independent film about second generation members of the Unification Church. Chelsea has also produced and written a host of documentary series for television. Her broadcast credits include The History Channel, National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel, Science Channel, Plum TV and Travel Channel. Credits: Directed by Dana Nachman and Don Hardy Narrated and Executive Produced by Sean Penn Produced by Chelsea Matter, Dana Nachman and Don Hardy Music by Scott Hardkiss This film is dedicated to the memory of our composer and friend Scott Hardkiss Written by Dana Nachman Photographed and Edited by Don Hardy Co-­‐Producer -­‐ Alison Carlson Associate Producer -­‐ Ashvini Bhave Additional Cinematography by Brad Williams Jon Drum Dan Gillett Basil Shadid Ken Carlson Oliver Lukacs Christina Yoon Animations by Bryan Lee of Original Program Price Blythe of Creative Taco Additional Sound Recording by John Craig Rick Gord Mary Ellen Pesanello Field Producers Dana Nachman Chelsea Matter Margot Hardy Liza Meak Norma Yuriar Creative Consultant -­‐ Carlton Evans Translation Support -­‐ Hugo Velasquez Music Consultant -­‐ Marc Morris Additional Research by Pam MacDougall Post-­‐Production Services by Anarchy Post Online Supervisor -­‐ Eric Lalicata Sound Supervisor -­‐ Dan Snow Mixer -­‐ Tom Boykin Colorist -­‐ David Joshua Smith Sound Editorial -­‐ Sergio Rocha Publicity -­‐ Adam Segal/The 2050 Group Distribution Advisory Services -­‐ Josh Braun/Submarine Entertainment Outreach -­‐ ProSocial Poster Design -­‐ Adelle Charles Website Design -­‐ Christopher Castiglione Additional Web Design -­‐ Alex Ose Legal Services -­‐ Lee, Lawless & Blyth Supported By Tribeca All Access The Fledgling Fund Jacob & Hilda Blaustein Foundation Claneil Foundation Climate Healers Corfu Foundation Cornell Douglas Foundation The Fine Fund Fleishhacker Foundation Forsythia Foundation Fred Gellert Family Foundation Henry Lord Park Foundation Fiscal Sponsorship by Moving Train The San Francisco Film Society Thanks For Your Generous Support Vera Anderson Marian Beddill Ashvini Bhave Wendy Bohlke & Brian Hansen Polly & Tom Bredt Scott Brown & Patti Hoelzle Becky Campbell Alison Carlson David & Genny Cohn Cassy Christianson Dorothy Davis Ro Donelson Joe Dorison Tom & Coral Dudek Beth Fuller & Frank Mitchell Crisanta de Guzman Robert Gould Mark Grandcolas Gedale Horowitz Marion Hunt Gary & Kelly Jensen Todd Jones Sean & Miriam Kali-­‐Rai Joyce Kurtz Maren Larson Henry Lord Molly Monahan Andie Menzies Michael Nachman Peg & Crystal Neva Rushi Parikh & Sonia Sabharwal Madhvi Pratt Nilima Sabharwal Gail Smedley Satish & Namrata Sharma Anu & Raj Singh Anonymous Donor KTF Films Interns Siya Bahal Ryan Balmain Kelsey Dayton Dora Duru Molly Flemming Emily Grandcolas Sohee Lee Chris Lord Ben Middlekauff Lucy Musson Sarah Schmoltner Megan Stanion Margot Swank Laura Swenson Caitlin Whelan Scott White Additional Research American Lung Association Center for Tobacco Control Research & Education Centers for Disease Control & Prevention CDC National Center for Environmental Health Child Trends DataBank Richard Denison Joseph Guth Philip Landrigan MapLight National Cancer Institute SEER Database National Center for Health Statistics National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Natural Resources Defense Council OpenSecrets David Rosner Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Safer States Mark Schapiro Ted Schettler UC Berkeley School of Public Health UCSF Program on Reproductive Health & the Environment Sarah Vogel Special Thanks Sato Masuzawa Jack Grandcolas Jerry Harrison Stephanie Diaz Matos Mark Fishkin The Mill Valley Film Festival IDFA Bruce Akers Whitney Arguelles Ken August James Berner Nalini & Umesh Bhat Ashvini Bhave Sheila Brown Nancy Buermeyer Judy Caminer Cherri LeBus Cary Jen Chaiken Gigi Lee Chang Andrea Cohen Barbara Collura Shannon Coughlin Kathy Curtis Special Thanks Lindsay Dahl Richard Denison Carrie Dickenson Sarah Doll Coral & Tom Dudek Olivia Dudek Connie Engel Jeffrey ErnstFriedman Mimi Flynn Roy Roberto Gerona Rachel Gibson Jesse Gillispie Ryan Harrington Lauren Heine Gary Hubbard Andy Igrejas Justine Jacobs Jeremy Jacobs Sarah Janssen Sheila Kaplan Margie Kelley Dale Kemery Sheila Kinkade Anil & Suman Lal Anne Lebleu Richard Lee Sonya Lunder Stacy Malkan Kimberly McGuire Danielle Messina Pamela Miller Mark Mitchell Ahmed & Dirici Moneim Michael Nachman Leslie Napolitano Robyn O’Brien Don Pessin Luca Pettini Chaya & Jayasimha Prasad Sailesh Rao Fred Redmond Jeanne Rizzo Jose Rodriguez Von Roebuck Marni Rosen Mark Rossi Karin Russ Jennifer Saas Johanna Salomaa-­‐Valkamo Mark Schapiro Chloe Schwabe Jeff Sell Judi Shils Gina Solomon Maureen Swanson Mikko Väänänen Adria Vasl Sarah Vogel Sue Waiss Adnaan Wasey Corey Whelan Mike Wright Janinie Zacharia Thank you for trusting us with your story Dr. William Goodson Dr. Tracey Woodruff Marika Holmgren Jenn and Noah Canvasser Dr. Irva Hertz-­‐Picciotto Hannah Cary Dr. Megan Schwarzman Dr. David Rosner Jim Jones Dr. Joseph Guth Sen. Frank Lautenberg Rep. Jan Schakowky Susanne Rust Dr. Stanton Glantz Dr. Robert Proctor Laurie Valeriano Dr. Arlene Blum Sen. Mark Leno Stacy Malkan Maria Cruz Luz Romero Jessica Assaf Victoria Ikerd-­‐Schreiter Geert Dancet Jack de Bruijn Esa Nikunen Dr. Marty Mulvihill Howard Williams Michael Potter We couldn’t do it without you Margot Hardy Peter Schwartz Annie Schwartz Charlie Schwartz Sid Nachman Kyle Matter Charlotte Matter Additional Footage Provided By Kevin Bazar The California Channel Jenn and Noah Canvasser Footage Firm Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Kosair Charities Moving Image Archives Leslie Napolitano Pond5 Senate Recording Studio UC Berkeley -­‐ Roxanne Makasdjian UCSF Tobacco Control Archives Vanderbilt University Television News Archive Washington State University -­‐ Matthew Haugen Tribeca All Access The Fledgling Fund Fiscal Sponsorship by Moving Train SFFS Anarchy Post Copyright 2013 The Human Experiment Movie, LLC. All rights reserved.