Broken Landscape
Award winning short documentary on coal mining in India
An explosion in unregulated 'rat-hole' coal mines turns a rural Indian community into the Wild West. That is, until environmental destruction prompts the government to ban coal mining completely. Mine owners and villagers clash in this examination of the cost of unmonitored industrial development.
FILM SUMMARY
Broken Landscape is an investigative documentary for the “Global Choke Point” project – an original reporting collaboration between the Wilson Center and Circle of Blue. Our intent with the film was to document the lack of environmental regulation in a region experiencing a massive increase in coal production. By spending time with miners, journalists, and community members, we hoped to tell the various stories of people impacted by the industry. But two days before we set off for northeast India, a new judicial body, the National Green Tribunal, changed things dramatically: They announced the first-ever state-wide ban on a fossil fuel industry anywhere, targeting all coal mining in Meghalaya. The result is Broken Landscape, a short film which documents the frontlines of one of the most consequential contests between energy, water, and livelihoods in the world.
CREDITS
DIRECTOR: MICHAEL T. MILLER
PRODUCER: SEAN PEOPLES
50 MILLION VIEWERS
Broken Landscape is an example of how we used our creative team to reach a large audience through a dynamic distribution strategy - film festivals, cable news networks, featured web content for respected websites, and screenings for professional societies and conferences. We estimate the film’s reach to be 50 million people and growing. A feat achieved by creating an ecosystem around the project.
Film Festivals
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Yale Environmental, Athens International, DC Environmental Film Festival, American Conservation, Global Visions, Dominican Republic Environmental, College Town, Cellu l’art International, SXSW Eco
Online Reach
Film featured on The Atlantic and National Geographic websites. Film and story covered in the Thew New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Ensia, Meghalaya Times, and Circle of Blue.
Recognition
Awarded Outstanding Feature Story for Reporting on the Environment by the Society of Environmental Journalists. Awarded Best Editing distinction for the 2016 Social Impact Media Awards.
Broadcast Premiere
Broken Landscape was broadcast on CNN IBN (India) in June 2015 for World Environment Day. The network reaches and average of 45 million viewers a day.
Influence Policy
The film was a featured multimedia component of the ongoing Wilson Center reporting series Global Choke Point, where it helped spark debate about the intersection of current energy and environmental policies.
Global Distribution
The film garnered a global distribution deal with Journeyman Pictures and will continue to reach international news outlets and drive conversation for years to come.
