Asbestos Documentary Nominated for Emmy
A recent article in the Billings (Mont.) Gazette announces that the film documentary “Libby, Montana” has been nominated for an Emmy award. The film, produced by Doug Hawes-Davis, profiles the struggles of the small Montana town as hundreds of its residents become sickened by asbestos, caused by the presence of the W.R. Grace and Company asbestos-tainted vermiculite mine, which operated in the town for more than 30 years.
Hawes-Davis and co-producer Drury Gunn Carr were contacted last week about the award by the producers of “P.O.V.,” a documentary series that airs on PBS. “Libby, Montana” was part of that series and aired on PBS nationally last August. Its audience numbered more than 3 million viewers.
“[The nomination] took a couple days to sink in, to tell the truth,” said Hawes-Davis. “Now that I think about it, it’s our biggest honor as filmmakers by a long shot.”
The film was nominated in the category entitled “Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story Long Form.” It will be up against four other documentaries, including two others from the P.O.V. series.
Since last August, the film has received much critical acclaim and has been lauded for bringing the plight of Libby residents to the public eye.
“If the political pressure to prosecute Grace’s executives to the full extent of the law persists, it will be due in part to this deeply moving film,” wrote a critic for the San Antonio Current.
Hawes-Davis also wonders what impact his film might have on the trial of W.R. Grace and several of its executives, scheduled to begin in about two months.
“It increases the probability that there will be a pursuit of justice,” he said. “Whether or not people are convicted is really up to the court system. But my hope is that the movie had some role in building public understanding. I love the idea that the movie could have that kind of impact, but I’m trying to be realistic about it. I do believe that this type of media can raise public awareness.”
