Bombs in Our Backyard
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Images
"We have located more weapons of mass destruction in Spring Valley than have been found in Iraq."
At its zenith, Camp American University was the world's largest chemical weapons facility in World War I.
The United States Army tested deadly chemicals, including lewisite and arsenic, that would be used in the war.
"The ultimate solution would be to destroy every house in Spring Valley and then let people move back in."
"I went down from 95 pounds to 75 pounds and I just felt like I was dying."
"This is not killing Germans. This is killing Americans. It is just a slow death."
Website
http://www.bombsinourbackyard.com
Topics
Environment: Environmental Activism, Pollution, Soils
Health: Disease/treatment
Information & Media: Communication, Freedom of Expression
Peace and Conflict: Arms & Military, Conflict
Politics: Activism, Civil Society, Corruption & Transparency, Democracy, Ethics & Value Systems, Governance, Law
Identity Niches
Budget
Raised to date: $58,000.00
Estimate to complete: $452,000.00
Total Estimated Budget: $510,000.00
The budget numbers above are accurate as of 04/30/2009
Status
Post Production
Media Type
Video
Project End Use
TV
Key Personnel
Ginny Durrin
Producer/Director/Writer
Ginny Durrin is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and president of Durrin Productions, Inc., a film and video production company in Washington, DC. For over 30 years, Durrin has produced documentary films for a wide variety of clients. She was nominated for an Academy Award for PROMISES TO KEEP, a documentary film about the homeless, and received a Woman of Vision Award from Women in Film & Video. Her recent broadcast credits include HOMEGROWN: ISLAM IN PRISON (part of the PBS series AMERICA AT A CROSSROADS) and POISONS AND PLAGUES (part of AVOIDING ARMAGEDDON, another PBS series).
Durrin began her career as a filmmaker in Bogotá, Colombia, where she served as a Peace Corps volunteer. She has filmed in a number of foreign countries, including Iraq, Japan, Ireland, and Honduras, and her films have appeared internationally on outlets such as the BBC and at film festivals in London, Sydney, Melbourne, Munich, Leipzig, Shanghai, and Edinburgh.
Outreach/Engagement Plan(s)
PBS has indicated that it is interested in considering a finished version of the film for national broadcast. BOMBS IN OUR BACKYARD will also be shown at film festivals worldwide. If possible, Erin Brockovich will narrate the film.
When the film is released, Durrin Productions will work in conjunction with environmental organizations and NGOs such as the Chemical Weapons Working Group, Global Green USA, and Friends of the Earth to arrange screenings and panel discussions and conduct grassroots organizing in other communities in distress. Distributing BOMBS IN OUR BACKYARD to schools, libraries, and public health and environmental organizations will broaden the film’s outreach potential.
Durrin Productions will use the Internet to connect with audiences, as well. There are plans to develop a BOMBS IN OUR BACKYARD website. Finally, Durrin Productions is in the process of joining social networking sites to provide a forum for community organizers to exchange ideas. To measure the impact of BOMBS IN OUR BACKYARD, Durrin Productions will test audiences’ knowledge of military contamination with a questionnaire. Finally, Durrin Productions will record the activity on the BOMBS IN OUR BACKYARD website and social networking sites.
Funders
| Name | Amount | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DC Humanities Council | $8,000.00 | ||
| Mid-Atlantic Regional Media Arts Foundation | $3,000.00 | ||
| DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities | $17,000.00 | ||
| Cafritz Foundation | $30,000.00 |
Location
4926 Sedgwick Street, NW
Washington, DC, 20016
Short Synopsis
BOMBS IN OUR BACKYARD is the story of how toxic chemicals buried in the past continue to haunt the residents of an affluent neighborhood in Washington, DC.
Description/Treatment
On a winter morning in 1993, the residents of the affluent Washington, DC neighborhood known as Spring Valley awoke to the news that construction workers had unearthed World War I munitions in the backyards of two homes. During the war, the United States Army leased land from nearby American University to develop toxic chemicals and then tested them in the surrounding countryside. There is no record of where they were buried, and after the war ended the land was sold to a developer, who built houses on the site.
All of this was forgotten history until 16 years ago. Since then, independent filmmaker and longtime Spring Valley homeowner Ginny Durrin has documented this story as it has unfolded. Her initial focus was on the military’s occupation of her neighborhood, including its investigation and clean-up efforts. Then, in 2001, arsenic—a major component in the weapons and a deadly carcinogen—was found in the soil. Durrin began filming her neighbors’ reactions. To this day, many fear that their health could be in danger.
What is most troubling about the situation in Spring Valley is that it is hardly unique; dozens of Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) exist elsewhere in America, and others have yet to be warned about potential hazards. Fortunately, now there is an opportunity to bring this issue into the light.
The goal of BOMBS IN OUR BACKYARD is to create lasting, visible change by raising awareness about military contamination through the production of a feature-length documentary film. When it is completed, BOMBS IN OUR BACKYARD will educate ordinary citizens about military contamination, encourage activists take a stand on this important issue, inspire public debate, and ultimately transform our collective thinking about the choices that we make as individuals and as a nation.
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