Shawn Bath is a former fisherman who once thought nothing of tossing garbage out his truck window. All that changed when diving in the harbors of his native Newfoundland and finding the ocean floor covered with tires, boat parts, nets and “disposable” plastics. Bath quits his day job and dedicates himself to the obsessive task of hauling out thousands of pounds of the rotting mess. He soon finds himself with less than $10 in his bank account, creditors calling daily and a stressed relationship with a supportive but concerned girlfriend. In the face of all this, Bath never loses hope in the possibility that one man might spark change in the world.
HELL OR CLEAN WATER can be streamed from anywhere in the United States during the virtual portion of Salem Film Fest which runs through Sunday, April 3. SFF Program Director Jeff Schmidt caught up with Director Cody Westman to speak about his film.
HELL OR CLEAN WATER Director Cody Westman
Jeff Schmidt: While you have an extensive production background, HELL OR CLEAN WATER is the first documentary feature you have directed. What motivated you to "dive" into a longer format production and was it your intention to find a story that delved into environmental subject matter?
Cody Westman: Although I make a living creating corporate and commercial material, I've been obsessed with film (and music) for decades, both documentary and narrative. After doing a few short films I knew I wanted to dive into a feature, but was just looking for the right story. When Shawn's story came on my radar I knew it would interesting and worth the two years of production to bring it to the screen.
JS: As we see at the beginning of the film, Shawn is in many ways flying under the radar as far as the public being fully aware of his clean up activities - how did you find Shawn and how difficult was it to convince him to let you film?
CW: It wasn't difficult to convince Shawn to let us tell his whole story as he initially contacted me. He wanted me to help bring his story to the public here in Newfoundland in a short video to raise awareness, but when I heard him say that he had 'removed 15,000 pounds of trash from the ocean by himself in a year' I knew that it would make for a good, larger story, the main theme being 'how hard will it be for this guy to get this off the ground'? I'm glad we stuck with it and Shawn put up with a film crew in his face for nearly 2 years because what he's doing is very inspiring and we can all learn from it.
JS: Were you surprised by the amount of discarded tires and trash that Shawn seemed to have a knack for finding? I think a lot of us don't fully realize the level of pollution in our waters since it's not in plain sight.
CW: We heard the phrase 'out of sight, out of mind' a lot while filming. Everyone we met knew that people used to throw garbage in the ocean, but since it's not clear water like in the Caribbean, you can't see it. When you get under to the dark and murky waters of literally every harbour here in NL you realize that it's everywhere. It's very disheartening. Of course there were many people that did not want to go on camera and some of the best bits we heard were off the record. Apparently some people in these communities would take their bags of garbage in the winter time and throw them out on the ice, a pile of trash just waiting to sink to the bottom as the ice melted. Can you imagine? I think that mindset has changed now but many people still don't think twice to throw their bottles and plastics from their boat overboard when there is no land in sight, no prying eyes.
JS: We seem to be living in what feels like an increasingly polarized society, which is frustrating and disheartening to many of us. Something I appreciated about your film is that it demonstrates that it is possible for people with different perspectives to actually work together to achieve a common goal. Can you talk about your experience as a filmmaker watching the different personal dynamics unfold between your "characters" and how it impacted your storytelling?
CW: Twillingate is a very small (and beautiful) little town in NL and the people who live and work there don't forget the past so easily. Many people blame IFAW and their activities for nearly shutting down the sealing industry and costing many families their livelihoods. Although we didn't feel unsafe at all, more than one person said we should be careful going to a restaurant with Sheryl from IFAW cause the anger is still fresh. The fact that Sheryl and Shawn put their differences aside for the good of the ocean was a very positive step. But as you can see in the film, as soon as the local government learned that IFAW was getting a grant to clean the ocean, they lobbied to have the money revoked. Once they found out that the infamous environmental organization wasn't coming here with crews from Ontario to clean NL waters and that all the money was going to Shawn and CHI they were ok with it. There is a deep divide around here, many Newfoundlanders blaming IFAW for the decline of their age old industry and certainly made for a unique dynamic!
JS: What do you hope viewers will take away from your film?
CW: I hope Shawn's story resonates as an example that one person can make a difference. Cleaning up small harbours in Newfoundland is a drop in the bucket regarding the waste and over-consumption problem we face in this world, but it's a start, and if every coastal community started their own Clean Harbours Initiative it would be a step in the right direction. We only have one Earth and we need to come together to take of her before it's too late.
HELL OR CLEAN WATER streams at Salem Film Fest through Sunday, April 3. Purchase tickets to the film here.
