Mann v. Ford is to air Monday night on HBO; the documentary deals with the lawsuit filed by Northern New Jersey’s Ramapough Indians against the Environmental Protection Agency after their land’s superfund status (due to Ford Motor Company pollution) spread cancer. The film’s co-director, Micah Fink, said that the film came together with the help of a funder who encouraged the directors to find a subject regarding Native Americans and the environment.
Was this benefactor Native American? “No—it was just one of his passions.”
“I didn’t realize there was a Native American tribe that close to New York,” said Mr. Fink, “and as I began to look into it, it became more fascinating.”
The process of earning the trust of the Ramapough took years; referring to a shot in which one resident shows the camera his scars from cancer surgery, Mr. Fink said, “That was three years of relationship building.”
While Mr. Fink was responsible for the reporting of the documentary, Maro Chermayeff “was responsible for making it look as gorgeous as it looks—she was the image controller.”
Ms. Chermayeff and Mr. Fink spent most days for the six years of production commuting to the reservation. “We didn’t live there,” said Ms. Chermayeff. “It’s only 39 miles from where we live. Micah moved to NJ. Most days we’d get up really early and drive up.”
It’s beautiful country in Northern New Jersey, and Ms. Chermayeff was concerned with making the film easy to look at. “HBO and I talked about who the cinematographers were going to be, we knew we were doing a vérité, pure look, not reality TV. All of our camera guys worked within those confines. We would wait till the magic hour.”
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I was at a premiere for this documentary — heartbreaking and horrific. First heard about this story through The Record newspaper’s Toxic Legacy series, which is now continuing under the name Toxic Landscape and covers many of the sites, including Ringwood, in NJ. So glad the Ramapough’s story is getting out there.
a must see documentary
I saw this documentary and I like the quote by Bob Spigel who said” Even Stevie Wonder could have found this” Who are the Edison Watershed and why didn’t the film maker focus on the community and not the attorneys. I really didn’t give a damn about Vickie or the wind bag attorney’s. I would have like to have gotten to know the other people in the background. Did Lisa Jackson refused to be interviewed?
I hope Oprah interviews these families so we can get the real scoop.
Of the settlement, I’d like to know exactly how much attorneys representing the community pocketed. I can’t help but suspect the reason residents were signed to secrecy regarding pay-out was mask this figure and feel that the documentary should have addressed it accordingly.
I completely agree. This documentary was super one-sided and could have earned credibility by adding some objective or opposite viewpoints. Also, causation is an important part of all law. If you are drinking and smoking each day, you can’t hold someone else responsible for medical bills for contamination. However if you don’t drink or smoke much the case is clear,
I completely agree. This documentary was super one-sided and could have earned credibility by adding some objective or opposite viewpoints. Also, causation is an important part of all law. If you are drinking and smoking each day, you can’t hold someone else responsible for medical bills for contamination. However if you don’t drink or smoke much the case is clear,
I will never buy a Ford
Me neither
Look deeper, touch truth.