A STORYLINE FILM & EXHIBIT directed & produced by MICHAEL PREMO

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1 A STORYLINE FILM & EXHIBIT directed & produced by MICHAEL PREMO Contact: Michael Premo, 1

2 Water Warriors is the story of a community s successful resistance against the oil and natural gas industry. When an energy company begins searching for natural gas in New Brunswick, Canada, indigenous and white families unite to drive out the company in a campaign to protect their water and way of life. Production Company: Michael Premo michael@storyline.media Title: Water Warriors Completed: 2017 Countries of Production: USA, Canada Production Company: Storyline Duration: 22 minutes Language: English Cameras: Red Epic Dragon, Sony A7S II, C100 Mark II, Canon 5D Mark III Screening Format: DCP HD Contact: Michael Premo, michael@storyline.media 2

3 You have to normalize resistance. You have to normalize it in every aspect of what you re doing. Suzanne Patles, quote from the film 3

4 The Story Water Warriors is the story of a community s successful fight to protect their water from the oil and natural gas industry. In 2013, Texas-based SWN Resources arrived in New Brunswick, Canada to explore for natural gas. The region is known for its forestry, farming and fishing industries, which are both commercial and small-scale subsistence operations that rural communities depend on. In response, a multicultural group of unlikely warriors including members of the Mi kmaq Elsipogtog First Nation, French-speaking Acadians and white, English-speaking families set up a series of road blockades, sometimes on fire, preventing exploration. After months of resistance, their efforts not only halted drilling; they elected a new government and won an indefinite moratorium on fracking in the province. 4

5 Water Warrior Candice Simon vowed she would not be moved until SWN left. 5

6 Director s Note Water Warriors is a short film and multimedia photo exhibition that captures how a community of unlikely warriors triumphed against seemingly insurmountable odds. As the climate warms at an alarming rate, the actions of ordinary citizens to protect democracy and our natural resources is gaining unprecedented momentum. Movements like No Keystone XL and Standing Rock s fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline are bringing the importance of proper consultation with communities and indigenous leadership on protecting the environment into the mainstream. At the heart of the Water Warriors story is the necessity of legitimate and meaningful leadership from the people, who in Canada are aptly referred to as, First Nations. It is so easy to feel like the scale of the crisis is insurmountable. The problems can seem too big. The obstacles too high. Water Warriors is a rare story of success by ordinary citizens, many who never saw themselves as activists before. In the era of #BlackLivesMatter and our vitriolic 45th President, Water Warriors artfully displays what can happen when communities with a long history of strife can accomplish when we come together. Now, more the ever, we need uplifting stories of success. Water Warriors is an uplifting success story that demonstrates what unity looks like. Michael Premo 6

7 The Water Warriors Exhibition Water Warriors is also a scalable exhibition combining photographs, large-scale video projections, and an audio soundscape by Michael Premo and Andrew Stern. The exhibition is currently touring. Visit or contact us for more info.. 7

8 Michael Premo, Director & Producer Michael Premo is a multi-disciplinary artist, journalist and filmmaker. He is co-founder and Executive Producer at Storyline. Michael has created and produced original work with numerous companies including Hip-Hop Theater Festival, The Foundry Theater, The Civilians, and the Peabody Award winning StoryCorps. Michael s photography has appeared in publications like The Village Voice, and The New York Times, among others. He is a frequent speaker and leader in the field of transmedia and multi-platform documentary work. With Kindling Group and Wisconsin Public Television he produced Veterans Coming Home, a multi-platform project of PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He s a co-creator and co-director of Sandy Storyline, a participatory documentary that collects and shares stories about the impact a of natural disaster in the era of a changing climate and widening economic inequality (winner of the Tribeca Film Festival s inaugural Award for Transmedia). He is an affiliate consultant with the Interaction Institute for Social Change and recently worked with Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis, as an impact producer on This Changes Everything. Michael is on the Board of Trustees of A Blade of Grass. Rachel Falcone, Producer Rachel documentary filmmaker and multimedia artist. She is co-founder and Director at Storyline. Rachel has produced and directed stories about a range a topics, including the housing crisis, economic inequality, health and the environment. She is currently codirecting the participatory web documentary and exhibition Sandy Storyline with Michael Premo (winner of the Tribeca Film Festival s inaugural Award for Transmedia 2013). Rachel s radio documentaries and multimedia have been broadcast internationally, and shared through interactive installations everywhere from laundromats to vacant store fronts to museums. Rachel has produced content with StoryCorps and EarSay, Inc., and was an associate producer on Young Lakota (Independent Lens 2013). She has taught oral history and storytelling for movement-building in collaboration with institutions like the Museum of the City of New York and Parsons The New School for Design. She studied philosophy at University College London and Vassar College. 8

9 Scott K. Foley, Co-Producer & Editor Scott K. Foley is an independent filmmaker and producer based in Brooklyn, whose awardwinning films and videos have screened at festivals across the globe. His graduate thesis, To Say Goodbye, a short-subject documentary that explores the troubled relationship relationship between a young woman and her alcoholic mother, won best of prizes at festivals including the Iowa International Film Festival, the Athens International Film Festival, and the Wisconsin Film Festival. Scott is currently touring the festival circuit with his new feature, Jessica, a slice-of-life drama that asks whether coming-of-age can ever come too late. Jessica won Best Feature Drama and Best Director Awards from the 2016 Twister Alley International Film Festival and the Grand Prix award at the Chelsea Film Festival in New York. Scott has been working in the film and TV industry for over a decade, first as cinematographer and then a producer/director. He has completed projects for a variety of high-profile clients, working in documentary, scripted television, and film. In addition to being an active filmmaker, Scott has taught film production at schools such as Northwestern University, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Columbia College Chicago. He is currently working to adapt a short story that appeared in the New Yorker. Andrew Stern, Co-Producer Andrew Stern is a photojournalist whose focus on the most pressing social and political issues of our times has taken him around the world. His work has won numerous awards and has appeared in Harpers, The New York Times, Readers Digest, The Guardian and many other domestic and international publications. He is also the founder of Starr Street Studios and Be Electric Studios providing commercial photography and video services. 9

10 Full Film Credits A Storyline Film Directed & Produced by Produced by Executive Producer Co-Producers Cinematography Additional Video by Featuring Michael Premo Rachel Falcone Dillon Colucci Scott K. Foley, Andrew Stern Scott Cramer Michael Premo Andrew Stern, Franklin Lopez Charles LeBlanc Christian Peacemaker Teams Peter Dauphinee Alma Brooks William Nevins Amanda Polchies Cyril Polchies Debra Hopper Denise Melanson 10

11 Full Film Credits Featuring Editors Assistant Editor Sound Re-Recording Mixer Debbie Cyr Kielyn Copage Lorraine Clair Maxime Daigle Louise Melanson Suzanne Patles Evan Cyr Zach Cyr Steven Kakinoosit Pocahontas Clair Jason Augustine Isaac Cyr Elsipogtog First Nation Chief Arren Sock Elsipogtog First Nation Councillor Robert Levi Miles Howe Timothy Sock Jean Sock Charlie Levi Diana Diroy, Scott K. Foley, Ligaiya Romero Rachel Loube Max Conklin 11

12 Full Film Credits SFX Editor Audio Post House Colorist Production Assistant Main Title Art Work Music Supervisor Original Music In Association with Special Thanks Diana David Pomann Sound John Kersten Marina Sachs Pure + Applied B Satz Earl Maneen, Optiks Working Films Sol Guy, Avi Lewis, Charlie Dos Santos The exhibit and short film are made possible, in part, with support from: 12

13 Thank you Contact: Michael Premo, 13