Documentary
United States of America
The Devil We Know is a 2018 documentary film directed by Stephanie Soechtig that explores the DuPont chemical company's use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) at its plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and the subsequent community and legal response. The film includes interviews with affected residents, former DuPont employees, and legal representatives involved in a class-action lawsuit against the company.
The film highlights the extreme health consequences of PFOA, which has been linked to various forms of cancer, birth defects, and other serious health conditions. The documentary also reveals that DuPont was fully aware of the dangers of PFOA but withheld this information from its employees and the general public for decades. The company continued to use PFOA even after it knew of its harmful effects.
The Devil We Know premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018 and was released to critical acclaim. The film sheds light on a major environmental disaster and the fight for justice by ordinary citizens against a powerful corporation. It serves as a cautionary tale of how corporate greed and impunity can have devastating consequences for human health and the environment.
