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‘The Great Invisible,’ 5 years after the BP oil spill

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Video: “The Great Invisible”

Monday marked the 5th anniversary of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing 11 workers and dumping countless barrels of oil into the surrounding water. Tar balls from the disaster continued to wash ashore on Alabama beaches as late as 2013.

The PBS series “Independent Lens” aired the national premiere of “The Great Invisible,” a 2014 documentary by Mobile’s Margaret Brown on the biggest oil spill in American history. It won the South by Southwest festival award for documentary feature.

The film looks at life after the explosion and its impact on the Gulf Coast.

Reviewers have praised the doc:

  • Entertainment Weekly: “A sobering look at a part of coastal America that will never be the same again. A-.”
  • The Hollywood Reporter: “A powerful documentary that reminds those of us who’ve moved on to other worries that this one is far from finished.”
  • Variety: “A uniquely thought-provoking chronicle of an event that, in the absence of any real preventive action taken by oil companies or the U.S. government, calls out for further cinematic and journalistic attention.”

“The Great Invisible” streams online through May 21.

Latham Smith, The Great Invisible

Tugboat captain Latham Smith

Deepwater Horizon, The Great Invisible

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig

“The Great Invisible”

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  1. Wade on Birmingham » #sundayread for April 26, 2015
    Tuesday, April 28, 2015, 1:44 am
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