The Film

BAD RIVER, narrated by Quannah ChasingHorse and Academy-Award nominee, Edward Norton; written and directed by award-winning filmmaker, Mary Mazzio; and produced by Grant Hill (Owner of the Atlanta Hawks) and Allison Abner (writer for Narcos, West Wing and descendant of the Stockbridge Munsee Band), is a new documentary film which chronicles the Wisconsin-based Bad River Band and its ongoing fight for sovereignty, a story which unfolds in a groundbreaking way through a series of shocking revelations, devastating losses, and a powerful legacy of defiance and resilience which includes a David vs. Goliath battle to save Lake Superior, the largest freshwater resource in America. As Eldred Corbine, a Bad River Tribal Elder declares: “We gotta protect it… die for it, if we have to.”

Called “a powerful chronicle” by Bill McKibben (writer for The New Yorker), profoundly moving” by film critic Liz Braun, “a 10 out of 10” by film critic Vincent Schilling, and “brilliant” by David Corn of Mother Jones, BAD RIVER has already had remarkable impact, launched with a theatrical run in 25 major markets across the country lasting about two months (nearly unheard of for an independent documentary film). “We haven’t seen lines out the door like this since Barbie,” said the manager of the Ashland Bay Cinema in Wisconsin, who also reported that BAD RIVER outperformed Dune, Kung Fu Panda, Ghostbusters and Godzilla on successive weekends. People also made great effort to see the film on the big screen, flying to nearby states where the film was showing, and driving upwards of 6 hours to the closest movie theater, all of which speak to the power of this project. Leonardo DiCaprio posted the film’s trailer, as did Edward Norton, Mark Ruffalo, Jason Momoa, and Channing Tatum.

The film is executive produced by Mato Wayuhi (Reservation Dogs), Taylor Hensel (Reservation Dogs, Reciprocity Project), Victor Lopez-Carmen (former co-chair of the UN’s Indigenous Youth Caucus), Tracy Rector (Reciprocity Project), and Alec Sokolow (Toy Story), along with Arthur M. Blank, Tamia Hill, MC McCall, Bill Hudson, Bryan White, Chris White, Bill McNabb, Katie McNabb, Bruce Herring, Tricia Herring, Sue Wagner, and Jay Ruderman.

The film is currently streaming on Xfinity and on November 1, 2024, the film will debut on PEACOCK.

Play Trailer

Bad River Poster. Courtesy 50 Eggs Films