CLIP FILM DARK WATERS : USA, 2019 PRODUCTION : Todd Haynes DIRECTOR : Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Camp STARRING SYNOPSIS Inspired by a true story, the film dramatizes Robert Bilott’s case against the chemical manufacturing corporation DuPont. In 1998, Robert Bilott, a corporate defense lawyer, partner at a prestigious law firm from Cincinnati, Ohio, is visited by a farmer from West Virginia, Wilbur O. Tennant, who asks him to the chemical multinational DuPont that has a plant in town. His cows are being poisoned by a nearby landfill where the DuPont company discharges waste. Wilbur shows him videos with images of his 190 cows which have died with signs of bizarre and strange diseases. Bilott is reluctant because he normally represents corporations, but when he drives to Parkersburg, his mind changes. The lawyer sees evidence of black teeth also in a young girl, huge tumors, and terrible deformities. With the of his boss, he a and gains access to confidential company files. While DuPont plays for time, sending letters to Parkersburg residents to tell them that there is PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid) in the water but in safe amounts, Bilott uncovers a scandal that is also endangering the health of many people. Robert takes the class action to court in Charleston, West Virginia, in order to secure medical monitoring, and an independent scientific review is set up to study the effects of PFOA. In order to get data for it, nearly 70,000 people donate their blood to the study. Years and years go by, with no result from the study. Finally, after seven years, the scientific review contacts Robert and tells him that PFOA causes multiple cancers and other diseases. Unfortunately, Robert is also informed that DuPont is on the entire agreement, so he decides to take each defendant’s case to DuPont, one at a time. A post-script text explains that Bilott won his first three multi-million dollar settlements against DuPont, and finally DuPont settles the class action for $671 million. PFOA is still in the blood of 99% of life on earth, and thousands of chemicals are still unregulated. sue backing files lawsuit reneging BEFORE WATCHING 11. Say if the statements are true or false and correct the false ones. T F Dark Waters is a fictional movie. 1. ☐ ☐ Robert Bilott is a lawyer who works for corporations. 2. ☐ ☐ DuPont has a chemical plant in Parkersburg and the waste is collected and sent to incinerators. 3. ☐ ☐ Bilott changes his mind when he is shown the videos of the cows. 4. ☐ ☐ An independent scientific review is set up to study the effects of PFOA on blood samples. 5. ☐ ☐ The results of the study take years to arrive. 6. ☐ ☐ Bilott gives up the case. 7. ☐ ☐ In the end DuPont has to pay $671 million to the residents. 8. ☐ ☐