RADiUS announced today that it has acquired U.S. rights to Participant Media’s critically-acclaimed, SXSW Grand Jury Award-winning film, THE GREAT INVISIBLE, written and directed by Margaret Brown, whose THE ORDER OF MYTHS (Independent Lens, 2009) won both a Peabody and Independent Spirit Award.
THE GREAT INVISIBLE tells the story of the modern South – the fishermen, the oilmen, and the survivors – through the lens of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
RADiUS has slated the film for a late 2014 theatrical release.
According to RADiUS co-presidents Tom Quinn and Jason Janego, “THE GREAT INVISIBLE unfolds like a thriller and Margaret does a brilliant job of uncovering the aftermath of one of the worst disasters our country has ever faced.”
Diane Weyermann, EVP, Documentary Films at Participant Media added, “Participant is proud to re-team with RADiUS to share Margaret Brown’s beautiful, reflective film about the people and places still reeling from the impact of the spill.”
Brown added, “RADiUS is clearly a great home for documentaries, and I am thrilled to work with them on this very personal film.”
On April 20, 2010, communities throughout the Gulf Coast of the United States were devastated by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, a state-of-the-art, offshore oilrig operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico. The blast killed 11 of 126 rig crewmembers and injured many more, setting off a fireball that was seen 35 miles away. After burning for two days, the Deepwater Horizon sank, causing the largest offshore oil spill in American history. The spill flowed unabated for almost three months, dumping hundreds of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic ocean, shutting down the local fishing industry, polluting the fragile ecosystem, and raising serious questions about the safety of continued deep-water offshore drilling.
Brown traveled to small towns and major cities across Alabama, Louisiana and Texas to explore the fallout of the environmental disaster. Years later, the Southern Americans still haunted by the Deepwater Horizon explosion provide first-hand accounts of their ongoing experience, long after the story has faded from the front page.
A Co-Production of ITVS and Participant Media, THE GREAT INVISIBLE was produced by Brown, Jason Orans, and Julie Goldman; executive produced by Jeff Skoll and Diane Weyermann for Participant, John Battsek, and Sally Jo Fifer for ITVS; and edited by Robin Schwartz and Tyler Hubby; with music composed by David Wingo.
The announcement comes on the heels of J.C. Chandor’s recently announced feature version DEEPWATER HORIZON.
Quinn and Janego negotiated the deal with Submarine’s Josh Braun and Jeff Ivers for Participant.
RADiUS and Participant Media previously collaborated on Errol Morris’ THE UNKNOWN KNOWN.