Guelph Politicast #4.7 - Dave Regos, Producer of DIVIDE IN CONCORD

We are no strangers to water issues here in Guelph. Whether it's our system of water use monitoring, or the ongoing battle between local conservationists and a certain bottling plant south of the city, Guelph has been at the forefront of the debate in the ways we use, protect, and replenish the world's most valuable resource: drinking water. At the intersection of municipal politics and water protection is a new documentary called Divide in Concord, which chronicles one woman's quest to ban single-serve, non-reusable bottles of water in her hometown Concord, Mass. That struggle is coming to Guelph this weekend when Divide in Concord screens at the Guelph Film Festival.

In 2012, Jean Hill tried for the third time to pass a town-wide ban on bottled water, a measure that would be the first of its kind in the United States if passed. Of course, Concord itself is slightly more well-known for being the hometown of the American Revolution, the place where it got underway in 1776 with the "shot heard 'round the world." Divide in Concord tackles both sides of the debate, but it's mostly about Hill, who at 84 years old proves that it's never too late to get involved and get active politically. But is she able to convince enough people in her town that the future is plastic bottle-less? You'll have to watch the movie to see.

In this new episode of the Guelph Politicast, I talk to Dave Regos, who produced Divide in Concord and supported director Kris Kaczor through the making of this self-funded documentary. In the course of our conversation we discussed the making of the film, trying to find balance in a point of view documentary, and whether or not one person can still make a difference in our cynical day and age.

Here's the Guelph Politicast with Divide in Concord producer Dave Regos:

Plot Synopsis for the film:

Divide in Concord is a feature-length documentary that follows the entertaining tale of banning bottled water in small town America.

In 1775, Concord patriots fired the infamous 'shot heard round the world' that began a Revolution and defined a nation. Now a local eighty-four year-old woman has waged another seemingly unwinnable battle. For three years Jean Hill has been trying to rid the town of single-serve plastic bottles of water. Complete with strong opposition from local merchants and the bottled water industry, Jean is once again leading the controversial crusade.

Bio for Dave Regos:

David Regos has been working on documentaries for the last sixteen years. As a teenager he made his first short film about a devastating freakish hailstorm that hit Sydney, Australia in 1998. After graduating from Berkeley, California he directed and produced a feature-length documentary about the quirky world of artistic roller-skating. The film screened in New York, San Francisco, Sydney, and Melbourne. He is also currently producing a documentary about magicians active during World War II. David currently resides between Sydney and NY.

Divide in Concord is playing at the Guelph Film Festival on Saturday at 7 pm at the MacDonald Stewart Art Centre. See the festival schedule for the full list of documentaries, and the dates and times of their screening.

Learn more about Divide in Concord at the film's website.  

The theme music for Guelph Politicast is provided by Crazy Pills and their song "Break It Down" courtesy of Free Music Archive.

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Stay tuned for future editions of the Guelph Politicast.