MAINE, Maine — Several farmers who first raised the alarm about PFAS chemicals will be the focus of a new short film set to premiere Dec. 9 in Los Angeles. The documentary short will put the looming toxic crisis and its impact in Maine into focus for a national audience.
In 2019, Fred Stone became the face of Maine's PFAS crisis. He was the first farmer to speak out about high levels of PFAS chemicals discovered in his cow's milk, soil, feed, drinking water, and his family's blood.
The plight of his century-old Arundel dairy farm and other operations, upended by the contamination, is coming alive on the silver screen in a documentary short film called "Sludge: A PFAS Uprising."
"When we discovered that this chemical is actually in the soil, is in the water, and now it's in their blood, we couldn't look away from that," documentary filmmaker Jeff Christian explained.
Christian first heard about the widespread contamination of Maine farm fields from his editor, Mike Pagano, who had just moved to rural Maine from California.
"There is a story here we can't ignore," Christian recalled.
Based in Los Angeles, Christian visited Maine several times over the past two years, interviewing Fred and other farmers poisoned by the chemicals, including Adam Nordell and his wife, Johanna. The couple was forced to leave their organic farm in Unity in 2022. The film also depicts NEWS CENTER Maine's coverage of the crisis unfolding across the state.
"It's an honest portrayal of what has happened to some of us and others in other states. It hasn't just been Maine. This is a national issue," Stone stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
Stone suffers from Parkison's disease and other health problems he believes are connected to high levels of PFAS. He said he hopes the film will lead to new laws against the spread of industrial sludge in other states.
The film is scheduled to premiere Dec. 9 in Los Angeles and has been submitted to several film festivals. "Sludge" may also be available for a wider audience online sometime next year. But more importantly, Christian and his crew hope the film's message will spark change.
"If we don't protect our farmers and if we don't protect the food that we eat, as we have folks in the film say, then we have a real problem," Christian said.
For more information on Maine's ongoing investigation into PFAS contamination, visit this link.