The Hills + Little Village: Empowering Change for a Sustainable Future

Ines Sommer/2023/43 Min/Community, Conservation , Environmental Justice

Mohammad Shahhosseini/2023/8 Min/ Community, Environmental Justice, Sustainability

Teens and young adults are encouraged to attend.

The Hills Film Description: When the steel mills on Chicago’s Southeast Side closed decades ago, they left behind toxic sites that look harmless to the naked eye. Deriving its title from a deserted 67-acre hill made up of slag that Republic Steel/LTV dumped there during the 1950s–80s, The Hills is a place-based documentary where contaminated land, water, and wildlife play a leading role alongside the voices of community members. Easily mistaken for gravel, slag is a byproduct of steelmaking and contains arsenic, chromium, lead, and other toxins. Recently declared a superfund site by the EPA, the abandoned Schroud property has long attracted heavy recreational use and toxins from the slag continue to leach into the adjacent Indian Creek. Providing a rich habitat for fish, beavers, and birds, Indian Creek links Wolf Lake, a major recreational fishing area, to the Calumet River which in turn connects to Lake Michigan, Chicago’s source of drinking water. The Hills uses this singular site as starting point to consider the area’s industrial history, labor, and current environmental justice struggles, including the fight against General Iron and the proposed expansion of the Army Corps of Engineer’s Confined Disposal Facility (CDF) right at the shore of Lake Michigan, the source of Chicago's drinking water.

IN THE PRESS
Chicago Tribune: Nearly $700K in public art installations on climate change and environmental justice to be revealed across Chicago
Axios Chicago: New environmental artworks pop up across Chicago
Chicago Reader: Rethinking our relationship to water 
The Green Sense Show: Ines Sommer – The Hills

Little Village Film Description: In the heart of Chicago, the community of Little Village has a rich history, but it's also faced its fair share of challenges, particularly in terms of environmental pollution. Join us on a journey through this historic neighborhood as residents, in collaboration with the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), share their stories and discuss the environmental impact on their lives. From coal plants to the fight for cleaner air and green jobs, watch how Little Village and LVEJO are striving for a more sustainable and equitable future. Discover the initiatives, successes, and hopes for a just transition that could inspire change not only in Little Village but in communities around the world.

We will additionally be screening one of the One Earth Young Filmmakers Runner-Up films The Atlantis Mussels by Rachmat Kurniawan Idrus and Azyd Aqsha Madani and Connecting Chicago to Opportunity by Greenlining.

Stay after the film for an enlightening facilitated dialogue with relevant experts and advocates.

Wednesday, April 23, 6 to 9:00 p.m. CDT
Illinois Institute of Technology
10 West 35th Street Chicago, IL 60616. Free with a suggested $8 donation.