Producer Lisa Mazzotta talks sharing an important message in film ‘Riverblue’
As a film producer, Lisa Mazzotta is aware of the power she has. She is a storyteller with a wide audience, and she can help the world by sharing positive stories. Whether it be making people laugh through a comedy or teaching the audience important lessons through a documentary, Mazzotta’s work help makes the world a better place.
Mazzotta’s filmmaking mantra is evident with her film RiverBlue. The documentary focuses on the toxic side effects of textile production and jean manufacturing on some of the world’s largest rivers. Traveling from tanneries along rivers in India, to some of the largest jean manufacturing factories in China, renowned river advocate, Mark Angelo, guides audiences through the declining health of these important waterways.
“I wanted to work on this project because I believe it is an important issue that affects us all. Water conservation is a massive concern globally and learning about what we can do to help in these efforts is incredibly important. I personally didn’t know how my clothes were made and what affect that had on people and the environment. The pollution from the fashion industry is also something that I really didn’t know much about before starting this project, so it has been an incredible, eye-opening and shocking experience,” said Mazzotta.
Knowing that working on a documentary is a several years journey, the Executive Producer on the film, Roger Williams, knew he needed someone both exceptional and committed to the message of the film. Williams reached out to Mazzotta, knowing she had a reputation as one of her country’s best.
“Lisa is one of Canada’s foremost independent film producers. Her hard work and natural talent are a great cause for the critical acclaim and success of our feature documentary RiverBlue. I know she will achieve many more successes in the years to come,” said Williams.
The film premiered in Vancouver, Canada in October of last year at the Vancouver International Film Festival where it was nominated for the Impact Award. It went on to be selected at several more film festivals, garnering support from audiences worldwide.
“It’s always nice when audiences respond positively to your project. It does feel good to win an award, but there is always this feeling like you can do more. A film or project is not something you start and see an end to necessarily, but something that will have its own life cycle. I still get excited every time we get invited to a festival, and some of them are in countries I wouldn’t have imagined,” said Mazzotta.
As producer, Mazzotta was pivotal in the film’s success. Her passion for RiverBlue’s meaning made any challenge that arose while producing seem minimal. There are stats showing that consumers are buying and hoarding roughly 20 billion garments per year. She says the message behind the film is to remind us that our actions do have large scale affects, on places and people we have never thought of. It is also a message of hope, that with awareness we can change. For Mazzotta, she hopes that audiences look at their consumption patterns and question why they are really doing it.
“I think people have placed a lot of self-worth on how much they can buy. Don’t get me wrong, I like fashion and I see the fun in it, but it’s past the point of being sustainable and how much people are buying and the frequency of it has become a sad obsession. I’ve heard people refer to it as a sickness, perhaps they are not so far off. We can’t let large corporations tell us what to do, keep in mind what their motives are. We’re smarter than that,” she said.
Mazzotta’s extensive background in television and other entertainment value projects, such as NBC’s award-winning Heroes 360, the hit series Smallville, and the film Marilyn, has made her sought-after for her talents, but this was a unique opportunity to use these talents while being a part of something with a larger purpose. The entire team was passionate about what they were creating. Mark Angelo has dedicated his life to river conservation, Roger Williams has created a successful company from scratch and wanted to do a project to give back to the world and David McIlvride is an incredibly accomplished director.
“This film is not afraid to find out what’s really going on. It doesn’t have ulterior motives. It’s not trying to sell you something, it has been made from a place of care and hope for a better future,” Mazzotta described.
A big part of this project for Mazzotta has been finding solutions to the problems. She and her film team created a site called FashionHeroes.eco to showcase some of the amazing work that designers and brands are doing. She has taken the film all over the United States, speaking to people across the country. She has discovered people with initiatives of their own to shed light on such an important cause. Eventually, Mazzotta wishes to host a summit for all the people dedicating their time to water conservation and to collaborate. To her, this was more than a film, it is a lifestyle.
“Working on this project has been both inspiring and saddening; saddening to see what is going on with the manufacturing our clothing and inspiring to meet so many people who are trying to change it. I can’t stress enough how much of a learning experience it has been. I wasn’t aware of the power of the fashion industry and how connected they are with many other sectors. I’ve also met so many amazing private companies that are really doing great work with great products, who know how to do it right. I’m definitely a more conscientious and aware shopper now,” she concluded.
