As America’s aging wastewater system begins to fail, one plant does all it can to stay afloat. Plant manager Dustin Price, together with his dedicated team, battle aging infrastructure, “forever chemicals” and the misconceptions of an odor averse public to keep Portland, Maine clean and healthy.
Join arts journalist, film critic, and columnist Loren King and Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong filmmakers, Kaitlyn Schwalje and Alex Wolf Lewis in a virtual discussion on Wednesday, April 29th at 6:00pm EST.
Watch the trailer here.
1. Register for the event on this page. Be sure to use the email you want the zoom link to go to.
2. You will then receive a confirmation email with a unique link to watch the film.
3. Watch the film before the virtual session which takes place at 6:00pm EST on Wednesday, April 29th.
Please note: The film will NOT be shown during the session. The session will be a live Q&A only.
4. On the day of the virtual session, you will be emailed a link to join the Q&A session shortly before the event begins.
5. At 6:00pm EST, the session will begin and you will be let in from the waiting room. Remember to use the Q&A function to ask questions!
The Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong team is currently working on booking community screenings for their film! If you are interested in bringing the film to your community, please email wastewaterfilm@gmail.com. To keep up with the filmmakers, you can explore their website or follow them on social media.
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Alex Wolf Lewis is a cinematographer and an award-winning director. When a spot opened up on the camera team of Anthony Bourdain: Part Unknown, he bought his own ticket to Madagascar which began a 4 year world tour and his career. Since then he has DP'd commercials, narrative projects and documentaries that have screened at major festivals all over the world including Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW, TIFF, New York Film Festival, and Venice. He co-directed Snowy, a comedic short doc about his uncle’s pet turtle which had its world premiere at Sundance, played at over 90 festivals, received multiple awards including a Critics’ Choice Award nomination and was acquired by Time Studios. His debut feature documentary, Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong, a feel-good feature documentary about a wastewater plant in Maine, premiered at the Camden International Film Festival where it received the Audience Award.
Kaitlyn Schwalje is a science journalist and award winning documentary director based in Philly. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Carnegie Mellon University and completed her postgraduate studies at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design. Before pivoting to storytelling, Kaitlyn designed haptic prototypes for the research division of the Walt Disney Company. Her stories about her disaster obsessed father, tsunamis, how archeology saved the cat, and city squirrels appear in CBC, Atlas Obscura, WNYC, 99% Invisible, National Geographic, and others. Director Credits include Snowy (Sundance ‘21, Critics Choice nominee, DOCNYC Shortlist) and Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong (Camden International Film Festival- Audience Award).
Loren King is a freelance entertainment journalist, film critic and columnist for the past two decades, with numerous features and reviews published in: The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, the late great Boston Phoenix, Art New England, Filmmaker magazine, WBUR’s The ARTery, the Credits, Provincetown Banner, Boston Spirit magazine and Newport This Week, among others.
Kaitlyn Schwalje is a science journalist and award winning documentary director based in Philly. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Carnegie Mellon University and completed her postgraduate studies at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design. Before pivoting to storytelling, Kaitlyn designed haptic prototypes for the research division of the Walt Disney Company. Her stories about her disaster obsessed father, tsunamis, how archeology saved the cat, and city squirrels appear in CBC, Atlas Obscura, WNYC, 99% Invisible, National Geographic, and others. Director Credits include Snowy (Sundance ‘21, Critics Choice nominee, DOCNYC Shortlist) and Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong (Camden International Film Festival- Audience Award).
Lauren Hollingsworth is an Emmy-nominated documentary director and producer focused on authentic storytelling and complex human characters. Her critically acclaimed film Mothers in the Middle, an exploration of the challenges faced by working mothers in America today, earned her recognition as a creative voice who inspires viewers to reexamine familiar aspects of their lives from a fresh perspective.
During her time as Senior Director of CNN Original Series, Lauren oversaw several acclaimed series including Giuliani: What Happened to America's Mayor, Watergate: Blueprint for a Scandal, and The Decades. She also oversaw the Emmy-winning United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell, which explores social and cultural issues in America, giving voice to those whose perspectives are too often left out of the conversation.
Prior to her tenure at CNN, Lauren served as a Director and Creative Director at MasterClass, where she brought a documentary feel to the content. She directed and produced classes featuring Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, Gloria Steinem, Pharrell Williams, Tony Hawk and Alex Honnold, among others, capturing each subject's unique stories and insights.
After obtaining her MFA in Film and Television Production at USC, Lauren spent a decade producing non-fiction and documentary television. Notable projects include R. J. Cutler's Apple TV+ series, Dear..., CNN's United States of Scandal with Jake Tapper, the CBS film Summer Dreams, and the Emmy-nominated It Gets Better.
Mara Kardas-Nelson covers inequality, particularly regarding health, the environment, and economic development. Her journalism has taken her around the world, and her reporting has been featured in The New York Times, The Nation, NPR, The Guardian, and elsewhere. Her first book, We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky (2024), a critical history of microfinance, was shortlisted for the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize. Mara also has a background in global health, having worked with South Africa’s Treatment Action Campaign, Médecins Sans Frontières, and Partners in Health. Her time in different parts of the world informs the questions she asks, and how she frames her stories. Outside of work, she’s obsessed with the outdoors, and is a proud mom to one human and two dog children.
Rebecca Stern is an Emmy-nominated documentary producer and director living in Los Angeles, CA. She focuses on stories that shock, awe or encourage a giggle. With credits on HBO, AMC, ABC, HULU, STARZ, ITVS, and NETFLIX, she makes a lot of stuff with the people she loves. Specific projects include: Well Groomed (SXSW ’19, Hot Docs ‘19, HBO Sports), Smugshot (AMC ‘25, ‘23), Level Playing Field (HBO Sports, ‘21), Dear Santa (ABC/HULU ‘23, ‘21), Deerfoot of the Diamond (Camden ‘23), Battleground (Starz, Tribeca ‘22), Snowy (Sundance ‘21), Tre Maison Dasan (Independent Lens ‘19), Netizens (Tribeca ‘18, HBO Max), and the bomb (Tribeca ‘16, Netflix). Rebecca is a 2023 DOCNYC 40 Under 40 honoree, a 2019 Impact Partners Fellow, a recurring SXSW mentor, a pga-accredited producer and a Documentary Producers Alliance board member.
