The Cost of Silence

Secretly filmed over nine years, an oil industry insider exposes the devastating consequences of the Deepwater Horizon oil-spill and uncovers a public health disaster and the coordination between government and industry to silence the victims.

Film synopsis: THE COST OF SILENCE

The Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010 was the world’s worst offshore oil drilling accident in history. The resulting oil spill contaminated 68,000 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico and threatened the lives of six million people. To make the oil go away, toxic chemicals called 'dispersants' were sprayed in unprecedented amounts. In the months and years after the disaster, the world has been led to believe that the 'clean-up' was a success, the dispersants were harmless, and life is back to normal. An oil field insider knew the official story was suspect and began to investigate. What he finds is a far different story.

From BP employees to clean-up volunteers to coastal residents and even innocent vacationers, Gulf Coast families and communities of all ages, races, and classes are suffering chronic illness, cancer, and premature death at rates far above national averages. The common link among the victims: all were exposed to oil and dispersants.

The cover-up has been successful, and a dangerous precedent has been set for the use of toxic dispersants in all future oil spills: ports around the world are stocked and pre-approved for deployment. Hiding this catastrophe paved the way for the 2025 Trump administration’s announcement of the most extensive offshore oil development plan in fossil fuel history.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

“Gives you urgent reasons to turn up at the ballot box”

— VARIETY

“A mystery inside a disaster”

— L.A. TIMES

“Infuriating… those who ignore the film’s message do so at their peril.”

— HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“This powerful film is precisely what we need.”

— Ken Cook; President, Environmental Working Group