“There’s absolutely nothing to worry about,” a government official assures the public in the new spot for “Flint,” Lifetime’s original movie about the Flint Water Crisis. That lie hangs in the air throughout the trailer as four women — played by Queen Latifah, Betsy Brandt (“Breaking Bad”), Jill Scott (“The №1 Ladies’ Detective Agency”), and Marin Ireland (“Girls”)—try to do without clean water before deciding to join forces and fight back.
The women take different tacts to protest Flint, Michigan’s contaminated water and the government’s apathy. “Our trust in authority is gone,” Scott’s character, Nayyirah, announces at a rally. Iza (Queen Latifah) stands up and publicly shames the officials leading a town hall meeting. And LeeAnne and Melissa (Brandt and Ireland) simply hold up two bottles of water — one clear, one brown — as proof that the public is living in unsafe conditions.
“Amreeka” director Cherien Dabis also has a project about Flint, Michigan in the works. The as-yet untitled film centers on Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician who found that a generation of Flint children had been exposed to high levels of lead.
“Flint” is written by Barbara Stepansky (“Girls! Girls! Girls!”) and directed by Bruce Beresford (“Driving Miss Daisy”). It airs this Saturday, October 28 on Lifetime.