Dates & Times

The Denver Public Library recommends these library resources to enhance your theatre experience of Cullud Wattah.

READ

Paradise Falls: the True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe by Keith O’Brien 

Between 1941 and 1952, Hook Chemical buried drums filled with 20,000 tons of toxic waste in an abandoned canal along the river in Niagara Falls, New York. This title tells the tragic story of Love Canal, and how the government and corporate polluters worked hand in hand to cover up the lack of oversight and responsibility they each demonstrated, and how 1980 Superfund Act funding is slowly cleaning up a generations worth of toxic landfills. 

WATCH

Flint: The Poisoning of an American City, dir. David Barnhart (2019) 

This layered documentary traces the roots of the crisis through history while interviews with Flint residents and water experts show the heartbreaking pain from people devastated by lead poisoning. Yet Flint was not an isolated incident; the movie serves as a warning sign to other Americans that lead poisoning is a vulnerability in too many cities. Available to stream on Kanopy to Denver residents. 

LISTEN

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

Yoruba language and culture is woven into Cullud Wattah. This engaging novel includes many elements of Yoruba water tradition, featuring Simi, an African mermaid charged with collecting the souls of drowning victims who goes against the gods to save a young boy. 

DOWNLOAD 

The River That Harms, dir. Colleen Keane (1987)

The River That Harms shines light on the largest radioactive waste spill in the United States.The Puerco River in New Mexico was the main source of water for the Navajo people in that region. Much like Flint, Michigan’s lead contaminated water, these serious environmental catastrophes affect marginalized citizens and are covered up or under reported. Both the poetic and meditative Cullud Wattah, first staged in 2018, and this documentary from 1987 span generations and are a call to action. 

In Media