Bad River Documentary Premieres in Select AMC Theaters

Bad River, Wisc. (March 16, 2024) – Award-winning filmmaker Mary Mazzio and 50 Eggs Studios announced that its newest documentary film project, BAD RIVER was launched in AMC theaters in select cities on March 15, 2024. The film is narrated by Edward Norton and indigenous model, actress and activist Quannah ChasingHorse, produced by sports legend Grant Hill and acclaimed screenwriter and descendent of the Stockbridge Munsee Band Allison Abner. Chronicling the epic sweep of the Wisconsin Bad River Band’s history into the present, BAD RIVER is focused on the Band’s David and Goliath battle to save their ancestral land and Lake Superio5he largest freshwater resource in America.

The film is also executive produced by Mato Wayuhi (Reservation Dogs), Taylor Hensel (Reservation Dogs, Reciprocity Project), Victor Lopez-Carmen (former co-chair of the UN’s Indigenous Youth Caucus), Tracy Rector (Nia Tero), and Alec Sokolow (Toy Story).

“This story is not just about a pipeline – this is history. This is a story of resilience, of resistance, and of defiance. I am forever indebted to the Bad River community for their generosity of spirit, for sharing their stories, and to all of the Native scholars and stakeholders involved with this project.” – Mary Mazzio, Director.

Line 5, loaded with oil destined for Canada, cuts through the heart of the Bad River Reservation, which is located on the shores of Lake Superior in Northern Wisconsin. This small Native community has been fighting tooth and nail to protect the “Big Lake,” the largest freshwater resource in North America, which hangs in the balance. It is a battle that has cost the Bad River Band dearly, but they wage it all the same against Enbridge, a monstrous multinational energy conglomerate, on behalf of all Americans. There is now a profound risk of a catastrophic failure, with 540,000 barrels of oil that would be emptied into the Bad River and Lake Superior.

The film premiered in Washington, DC on March 13 in a screening at the Motion Picture Association in partnership with Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, Native Americans in Philanthropy, and Oil & Water Don’t Mix.

“For tribes – like for all Americans – land is a primary asset, and they should have every right to decide what to do with it,” said Executive Producer Allison Abner. “We hope that the film leaves the audience with a deep appreciation for the formidable, strategic, and enduring resistance waged by Bad River and all First Nations tribes; that despite overwhelming odds, they have prevailed simply by surviving; and that sovereignty is self-determination, now and for future generations.”

Just a few months ago, Judge William Conley, a federal district court judge in Wisconsin, issued a stunning decision requiring Enbridge to shut down Line 5 by 2026, a remarkable feat for a tribal nation with few resources. Enbridge appealed this ruling and oral arguments were heard by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on February 8, 2024.

“This story is about human rights versus rapacious corporate greed and rank criminality and whether as a nation we are going to uphold the rule of law, period,” said award-winning actor and the film’s co-narrator, Edward Norton. “Imagine if a company had exceeded its license to operate on your land and refused to quit operations and was befouling your own land and community while not paying. Imagine your reaction. Imagine if they did this along the California coast between Ventura and Santa Barbara. Imagine if they did it through the Seattle neighborhoods along Lake Washington. Imagine if they did it in the Hudson Valley. Can you imagine the scale of the outrage and the intensity of the legal action? Does anyone doubt they would be held to account, given a cease and desist and forced to pay compensation?”

“This film will open people’s minds. It is, as a Native person, hard to watch some of this history, but the ending healed my heart.” – Quannah ChasingHorse, co-Narrator

Tickets for showings at AMC theaters in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Washington, DC, Seattle, Detroit, Minneapolis, Madison, WI, and Ashland.