"Bad River" documentary extends run at select Illinois theaters
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The new documentary "Bad River" following a Wisconsin tribe's fight against an oil pipeline that runs through their reservation, is getting an extended run in the Chicago area.
Last week, CBS Chicago spoke with the director, Mary Mazzio about her film that goes into the Bad River Band's battle against Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline, a 71-year-old oil pipeline that illegally runs through their land and into Mackinac in Michigan.
Enbridge has spilled over a million gallons of toxic oil into the environment in 29 different spills over the past 50 years, according to the Sierra Club.
"There's a bend in the Bad River, where she's changing her course, and the pipeline is in her way, which means there is an imminent risk of rupture," Mary Mazzio, director of "Bad River," told CBS Chicago. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and their fight against an oil company to protect The Great Lakes.
The film is not just about the pipeline but highlights the tribe's resilience in the face of oppression.
Right now, the case is before the Seventh District Court of Appeals in Chicago "with a very, very uncertain future," Mazzio said.
Mazzio is elated with the reception of the documentary and believes that it will give more people a chance to see it.
"The response to "Bad River" has been incredible for a documentary. AMC Theatres is extending our theatrical run another week and another seven cities are coming online this morning, including Illinois," Mazzio said in an email. "We are hearing stories of people flying to states where they can see the film and many stories of people driving four to six hours to get to their nearest theater to watch."
Here is a list of theaters showing "Bad River" in the Chicago area, including several in the suburbs. Half of the proceeds go back to the Bad River Band.
