Crossett, Arkansas is home to about 5,500 people, one Georgia-Pacific paper and chemical plant owned by billionaire brothers Charles Koch and David Koch, and a startling rate of cancer and illness. This groundbreaking investigative documentary follows local pastor David Bouie as he fights to save his community. It offers a rare look inside a small town ruled by a single company, where the government's environmental protections have been subverted and ignored, leaving its citizens to take on entrenched powers in a fight for justice. Crossett's residents are up against one of the nation's largest industrial company: Koch Industries. Pastor Bouie worked at the Koch's Georgia-Pacific plant for ten years, and on the street where he lives, 11 out 15 households lost someone to cancer. He seeks answers and actions to help protect the lives of his neighbors, many of whom have worked their entire lives at the plant, making products like Angel Soft, Brawny Paper Towels, Quilted Northern and Dixie paper cups. He galvanizes the town, revealing untold stories of health and medical crises. Crossett is just one of hundreds of towns across America polluted by big business and failed by local, state and federal environmental protections. Company Town ultimately asks, what do you do when the company you work for and live next to is making you sick? It is the story of a modern-day David vs. Goliath.
Natalie Kottke-Masocco is a documentary filmmaker, writer, and activist. Her directorial debut, Company Town premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2016, and premiered theatrically in New York and Los Angeles in 2017. Her feature-length documentary about environmental injustice in a small rural town in Crossett, Arkansas has been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter; a film Sundance Channel says “Could literally save lives.” Natalie stumbled upon Crossett’s story in 2011, and spent six years investigating and documenting the town’s fight for clean air and water, gaining access to the community, workers, and a whistleblower. The brave folks in Crossett had a profound impact on her life, witnessing their fight for justice. She received a documentary investigative journalism fellowship with The American Independent Institute in Washington, D.C. and partnered with Act 4 Entertainment. Natalie recently produced a story for the Emmy-nominated documentary series, Chef’s Table on Netflix. She’s produced for National Geographic Channel, National Geographic’s Explorer, CBS, Comcast, and has produced multiple feature-length investigative documentaries, including, Brave New Films: Unmanned: America’s Drone War, War on Whistleblowers: Free Press & The National Security State, and Koch Brothers Exposed. She has produced new media content on women’s rights, voting rights, and immigration reform. She lives and works in Los Angeles.
