Tag: Film news

Award-Winning Documentary ‘To Use a Mountain’ Premieres at DCTV in NYC

Peace activists standing at the entry to the Nevada National Security Site. Photo: To Use a Mountain, LLC, used with permission.

New Documentary Spotlight: TO USE A MOUNTAIN

Facet, Narrow Vision Endeavors, and Correspondent Productions Present:

TO USE A MOUNTAIN

  • Director, Cinematographer, Editor: Casey Carter
  • Producers: Colleen Cassingham, Jonna McKone
  • Executive Producers: Brett Story, Maida Lynn, Ryan Krivoshey
  • Format: Feature Documentary | USA, 2025 | 99 Minutes

Release & Screening Information

  • Theatrical Release: Opens theatrically at DCTV in New York on Friday, August 21, with a regional theatrical expansion to follow.
  • VOD Release: Coming in 2027 via Grasshopper Film.
  • Community Screenings: TO USE A MOUNTAIN is currently screening with frontline communities across the country confronting issues of nuclear waste, nuclear weapons production, and next-generation nuclear projects initiated in response to the energy demands of the AI data center boom.

Festival Accolades

  • Visions du Réel (Switzerland) — World Premiere | Special Jury Award, International Competition
  • Dallas IFF (Dallas, Texas) — Documentary Feature Competition
  • DOXA (Vancouver) — Best Feature Honorable Mention, ParaDOXA Forum
  • IDFA (Amsterdam) — Best of Fest
  • Big Sky (Missoula, Montana) — Official Selection
  • And many more…

Synopsis

In 1982, six rural communities across the United States were notified that all of the nation’s nuclear waste might be buried beneath them forever. (EG PR, 2026)

Faced with a mandate to isolate the waste for 10,000 years, the Department of Energy mapped, analyzed, and assembled its assessments, while the unsuspecting stewards of sacrificial territory found themselves fighting for their homes, health, history, and dignity.

In the end, one site was chosen: a desert ridge in Nevada called Yucca Mountain, on the unceded lands of the Western Shoshone. After decades of controversy, construction at Yucca Mountain was halted, and to this day, no permanent solution has been devised for America’s 90,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste.

Against the impassive logic of government analysis and archives, TO USE A MOUNTAIN assembles a people’s history of resistance and stewardship through a visceral journey across the landscapes, ecologies, and personal histories of the candidate sites. Farmers, miners, citizen scientists, Native American leaders, and activists—each with a story bound to this enduring threat—stand in stark contrast to the cold, silent machinery of bureaucracy, in a meditation on resistance, memory, and the timeless struggle between power and place.

About the Filmmaker: Casey Carter

Casey Carter is a filmmaker and interdisciplinary designer whose work engages nonfiction storytelling in film and video, photography, data visualization, and cartography. His work centers around themes of governmentality, geography, environmentalism, and personal subjectivities.

Prior Work & Background

His short films—TWO BOYS AND A DREAM (2023), TWO PRISONS (2020), and THE RIGHTS OF NATURE (2019)—have screened at festivals including Revolutions Per Minute, SF Shorts, Salem, Ashland Independent, and Hong Kong Film Art.

He holds a B.S. in Physics and a B.S. in Photography from Middle Tennessee State University, as well as a Master of Architecture from the University of Michigan.

Grants & Recognition

His work has been supported through grants and fellowships from institutions including:

  • Sundance Documentary Film Program
  • International Documentary Association (IDA)
  • UnionDocs Center for Documentary Art
  • New York Foundation for the Arts
  • The Marble House Project
  • Monson Arts
  • The Redford Center
  • SFFILM
  • Flies Collective
Photo: To Use A Mountain, LLC

Award-winning documentary My Name is Pedro will be available February 23

My Name is Pedro opens on Video On Demand and DVD on Tuesday, February 23, 2021. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

My Name is Pedro, the award-winning film from first time director Lillian LaSalle, explores the seemingly impossible journey of South Bronx Latino educator and maverick, Pedro Santana, a former “special ed” student, whose mantra is – every kid can learn despite their circumstances. A The New York Times profile of his “Out Of The Box” teaching techniques, thrusts him into the spotlight, which creates great opportunities for change but also has its downside – public school politics which, despite the cries of students and parents alike, threaten to take him down. A documentary with unpredictable twists and turns, it harnesses a compelling message of optimism, hope and tragedy. My Name is Pedro is an essential and timely reminder of the importance of great educators that exist within the infrastructure of our country’s public education system. (EG-PR, 2021)

It will be released on VOD and DVD on Tuesday, February 23 in the US, Canada, and UK. VOD: Amazon, Apple TV, iTunes, GooglePlay, Youtube, Vimeo on Demand and Fandango NOW. Cable: Verizon, Comcast, Charter, Cox, and Wave Broadband. Documentary (USA), 127 Minutes, in English.

OFFICIAL SELECTION AND AWARDS:
Winner: Best Documentary, Golden Door International Film Festival
Winner: Spotlight on Documentary Award, St. Louis International Film Festival
Winner: Audience Award, Chicago Latino International Film Festival
Winner: Audience Award, Brooklyn Film Festival
Winner: Award of Merit, Impact Docs
Winner: Honorable Mention, Woodstock Film Festival
Official Selection: Women’s Filmmaker Showcase, BAFF
Official Selection: San Diego Latino International Film Festival

My Name is Pedro is a powerful and poignant documentary about one man’s effort to reach even the most challenging students. As a child, Pedro Santana struggled in school early on and stuttered sometimes, except when he was onstage. He became an educator, mentor, and community leader because his work went beyond the school grounds. His goal was “I want to have an impact in people’s lives” and he truly influenced students as well as their families and everyone he met. While living in a culturally diverse community, he was able to cross the cultural divide. Like most people who think “outside the box,” he rattled the status quo and became a target of those who pushed back. The lesson to be learned is that the best way to honor someone’s memory is to keep his or her work alive.

“The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of all kind.” – Dalai Lama