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Sludge: a PFAS Uprising

Doing the right thing – cost them everything. “Sludge” tells the stories of farmers who are speaking up about “forever chemicals” poisoning their land, water, and livestock, only to lose everything in the process. Who’s to blame? And what’s being done now to ensure our land and water is safe for future generations?

  • Jeffrey Christian
    Director
  • Kiera Howard
    Producer
  • Amanda Christian
    Producer
  • Jeffrey Christian
    Producer
  • Michael Pagano
    Producer
  • Matthew Modine
    Executive Producers
    Stranger Things, Full Metal Jacket, Oppenheimer
  • Adam Rackoff
    Executive Producers
    Downwind, Accidental Truth, The Brainwashing of my Dad
  • Adam Leipzig
    Executive Producers
    A Plastic Ocean, March of the Penguins
  • Tod Hardin
    Executive Producers
    Against the Current, The Erie Situation
  • Sabra Gertsch
    Executive Producers
  • Michael Pagano
    Editor
  • Michael Patti
    Director of Photography
  • John Beatty
    Director of Photography
  • Kevin Glantz
    Visual Effects
  • Jeremy Hunt
    Color
    405, Blood Road, 300
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    26 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    November 1, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital on ARRI and RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Jeffrey Christian

Since co-founding Side Road Media in 2016, Jeff has directed numerous commercials, branded documentaries, and episodic web series. Jeff’s dedication to creative storytelling guided his 20-year television career from his hometown in Ames, Iowa to LA, New York, Paris, and beyond. His work as a cinematographer gave him the opportunity to produce stories at The White House, three Olympic Games and at the forefront of high profile news events around the world. As a staff photographer at NBC News in New York City, his work was showcased on NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, MSNBC and Dateline. Along the way, Jeff was honored with two national Edward R. Murrow Awards, 20 regional Emmy Awards and was runner-up to the National Press Photographers Association's Photographer of the Year.

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Director Statement

I’ve known a lot of farmers in my life, growing up in the center of the United States. They all have a certain quality to them; hard working, honest and almost reclusive at the notion of conflict. Most farmers enjoy putting their head down and focusing on the day ahead of them. But what we discovered in the past year in Maine has put that theory to test. From Fred Stone to Adam and Johanna, to a husband and wife at Misty Brook farms, I quickly learned all of these people had been forced to make some critical ethical decisions. Our story quickly had innate conflict and huge obstacles. “Sludge” is part mystery novel, part love story, and part horror film. It would come as no surprise that an audience wouldn’t care about sludge in a tangible sense, but an audience would care deeply about people impacted by this muck.