The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Film-maker’s triumph for people of Flint
AMontrose documentary maker, best known for clashing with Donald Trump, has returned to the US for his latest David vs Goliath tale.
This time Anthony Baxter has picked up the cudgels on behalf of residents of Flint, a city in Michigan where a government-led change in supply led to “sky high” levels of lead in the drinking water. The issue continues to affect thousands of local children.
The Alec Baldwin-narrated film will be shown on BBC Scotland tonight at 10pm and is then available on the iPlayer. Anthony worked on it for five years.
The Angus -based journalist said: “The children suffered this high intake of lead. We don’t really know how that’s going to play out.
“So I feel a responsibility to continue with the story for as long as I am around. I want to know how they’re affected by this and make sure they’re not forgotten.”
The water issue became a national scandal af ter scientists discovered corroded lead pipes contaminating Flint’s new water supply.
Anthony was already covering the story when celebrity campaigners such as ac tor Mark Ruffalo rolled into the city.
He set up a non-profit water agency called Water Defense, which brought in technology to do its own research.
Anthony said: “They said to the residents they were not being given the full facts. The film follows that and it reveals how the residents were left not knowing who to trust.”
The film-maker said the trust issues remain today.
“A recent survey showed a large number of residents were still using bottled water for bathing and showering,” he said.
“They would not trust the water to drink. This trust element is so crucial to all of us – especially in today ’s wor ld w ith Covid-19.”
Anthony directed and co-produced the new Flint with the BBC.
It debuted at the Glasgow Film Festival just before the Covid-19 pandemic, but he had to cancel premieres in Washington DC, San Francisco and Detroit.
He won acclaim in 2011 for his film documenting the battle between Aberdeenshire residents and Donald Trump over the creation of the tycoon’s Aberdeenshire golf course.
After watching the recent US election with “great interest”, he said: “I’ve always felt the story of Trump coming to Scotland was a microcosm of what would happen on a much bigger scale if Donald Trump was elected.
“Over a period of time, people in Scotland saw the reality of Donald Trump. He made promises that never materialised.
“If we flash back to what Trump promised the American people in 2016, the things he was claiming to deliver and has not delivered... I think the people have seen that and voted for a new future.”