The Powerful Anti-Fracking Film, "Dear Governor Cuomo", Now Available to Download on Internet

Jon Bowermaster's Uplifting Concert Protest Film is a Rousing Rallying Call to Protect our Health and Environment From the Devastating Negative Impact Of Fracking.    

By Paul E McGinniss

 

A scene of the musicians and environmental advocates in Albany, NY from the concert protest film "Dear Governor Cuomo."

I love the Hudson Valley.  The beautiful vistas, the rolling farmland, the high peaks of the Catskills, the rushing creeks and streams and reservoirs that supply New York City with drinking water.  Not to mention, the amazing rainbow of creative people who live here, some who have been here for generations and some newly planting themselves in the fertile soils along the mighty Hudson River.

One of my favorite new friends in the Hudson Valley is writer, filmmaker, National Geographic explorer, and all around good guy, Jon Bowermaster. I was originally connected to Jon when I helped organize a screening of the powerful film about global warming and the world's melting glaciers, Chasing Ice, at the Rosendale Theater in Rosendale, NY.  

I admire Jon for his work and decades-long passion to protect the environment and also for his unwavering commitment to staying positive and inspiring despite the sometimes depressing state of the world environment.  Jon not only wants to create beauty, but also use his art and talent to make a difference.  For him, like the Russian avant garde productivists who thought art should serve a purpose, Jon uses his talent to not only celebrate nature, but also help shed light on important issues like global warming and fracking, issues which we all must face together as a unified and healing force for change.

Jon Bowermaster in front of the Prius I drove as part of my participation in the recent Toyota Prius Plug-In MPG Challenge for Charity.

"Dear Governor Coumo" premiered at the 2012 Woodstock Film Festival.  The idea for the film was born when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he might might lift the four-year moratorium against hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in New York state. The result is an inspiring concert/protest which was organized on his doorstep in Albany, the state capital. This musical protest event brought together scientists, musicians, activists and actors in a scripted night onstage which encouraged the Governor to join the anti-fracking majority in his home state.

Photo by Les Stone of a family whose drinking water was poisoned from a natural gas well using the controversial technique of hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

"Dear Governor Cuomo" was written and directed by Jon Bowermaster, with musical direction by Natalie Merchant.  It stars, among others, Mark Ruffalo, Melissa Leo, Joan Osborne, Citizen Cope & Medeski Martin and Wood.  It is described as a cross between “The Last Waltz” and “An Inconvenient Truth", equal parts message and music.  

What's truly great about this grassroots art advocacy is that it has spawned similar anti-fracking movements across the country with campaigns such as "Dear Governor Brown" in California.  When I met with Jon in Stone Ridge last week, he told me that a "Dear President Obama" concert protest film is in the works which will document the grassroots musical protest against fracking across the United States in a feature length film.  Thank you Jon for being a good neighbor and rallying us all to take action.

Check out the trailer for "Dear Governor Cuomo" below.  (Double click to watch full screen)

And, order the film on iTunes or Amazon.




Copyright Paul E McGinniss 2013