GASLAND (directed by Josh Fox) – opens Nov 18th

Just last week, the Queensland government announced it was approving a new natural gas drilling operation by multinational giants like Santos and British Natural Gas – heralding in a new economic boom the embattled Bligh government can’t wait to bandage their budget blowouts with, or take to their electorates with the creation of thousands of jobs. The Official Position™ is that the government is imposing stringent environmental policy and report conditions upon the deals and, not to worry, we’ll all make a tonne of cash and everyone will be safe. But this has already come a little unstuck, with the recent discovery that toxic chemicals were found in eight exploration wells already in operation (Santos alone already has 1500 wells in operation prior to this current expansion deal). Federal government, whilst backing the deal, has wiped its hands clean of environmental accountability, passing the buck onto the state governments – which may not be great news, considering a new admission by state government that approval has been given to the operation, despite many of the environmental conditions not yet proven to be met.

It’s perfect timing, then, for the Australian box office release of Josh Fox’s acclaimed documentary, Gasland. It’s easy to dismiss the urgency of the steady flow of left-leaning activist documentaries that flow from The States, these days, and treat them as mere indulgences or cross-cultural studies; but whilst Fox’s eye remains firmly on natural gas drilling across America, it views a model that is no different to anywhere else – certainly when it comes to the model of the resource industries, and the science of natural gas drilling. The only variable, then, is government response and legislation – but if recent concerns are anything to go by, perhaps we’re not as different as Tony Burke would like us to believe. Gasland is a film about America, but it is a dire warning to us all.

In it’s near two hour run, we meet tens of everyday Americans who, like an increasing number of Australians, live with natural gas wells quite literally in their backyards; breathing the air around them, and relying on the local water supplies they utilise and, as we’re now seeing, contaminate. These include many who now suffer horrifying medical conditions – some even succumbing to cancer and brain lesions, and some who can light their own tap water by simply holding a match to it (and, yes, seeing is believing, and, don’t worry, you get to see water burn before your very eyes in the film). They drink from creeks that literally bubble, and they’re begging for help from a government who is too busy piling the cash to care. It’s an enraging film, but taken far beyond the technicalities of most political documentaries by the heartbeat that pulses through it; the film playing out like a road movie, each stop unveiling a character that deepens the audiences connection to the tragedy on an emotive – at times profound – level. And it’s often as affirming, as it is heart-breaking. Not to mention, at times very funny. In short, it’s a must-see. And I was lucky enough this week to speak to the man himself, director Josh Fox. This is what he had to say…



visit the website at www.gasland.com.au