FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Turning Tide Productions Contact:

Robbie Leppzer, Director, Power Struggle • (413) 325-7358 • [email protected]

Free Speech TV Contact:

Sunnivie Brydum, Digital Managing Editor, Free Speech TV • (303) 542-4818 • [email protected]

Free Speech TV Announces National Broadcast Premiere of Power Struggle on 40th Anniversary of Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident

DENVER, March 20, 2019 — Free Speech TV (FSTV) will air the nationwide broadcast premiere of Power Struggle, a new feature-length documentary from filmmaker Robbie Leppzer, on Thursday, March 28, at 8:00 pm ET. Power Struggle will air across FSTV’s platforms, including on DISH Channel 9415, DirecTV Channel 348, and streaming on Sling TV, Roku, Apple TV, and at freespeech.org.

Democracy prevails when a nuclear engineer turned whistleblower, a 93-year old grandmother, and a scrappy new governor join forces with a dedicated array of citizen activists to accomplish a rare grassroots environmental victory in closing an aging nuclear reactor in Vermont. Filmed over five years of direct action and grassroots organizing, Power Struggle follows the unfolding drama as citizen activists and elected officials, alarmed at increasing safety violations, take on the federal government and one of the largest nuclear power companies in America. Power Struggle is also a warning about the toxic legacy of high-level radioactive waste that will remain at every nuclear power plant around the world indefinitely.

Filmmaker Robbie Leppzer, who has been documenting grassroots social change activism for decades, is available for interviews. Rebroadcasts and supplemental online conversations will follow the broadcast premiere. For more information, visit Freespeech.org/PowerStruggle. Links for media screeners, trailers, and high-res images can be found below. Custom video or audio clips can be made available for interested broadcast programs.

“These kinds of stories, so important to creating a more deeply democratic society, would often go untold without independent media,” said Robert Jensen, professor emeritus of journalism at the University of Texas, Austin, in reviewing the film. “For more than four decades, filmmaker Robbie Leppzer has been an exemplar of that independence, combining a mastery of the craft of storytelling through documentary films with an incisive analysis of how power operates. Power Struggle is journalism at its best.”

The national broadcast premiere of Power Struggle on FSTV coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Three-Mile Island Nuclear Accident, the most serious commercial nuclear power plant accident in U.S. history, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Middletown, PA on March 28, 1979, resulted in sweeping changes to nuclear regulatory processes, emergency response protocols, reactor operator and engineer training, and radiation safeguards nationwide.

“After eight years in the making, I feel very proud to be the storyteller for a national audience of this inspiring story of environmental activists not only making a huge difference, but actually winning!” said Robbie Leppzer. “I hope Power Struggle will be a catalyst to inspire increased citizen awareness about aging nuclear plants and about the long-term hazards of toxic radioactive waste, as well as about renewable energy alternatives, and enhanced citizen participation in our democracy.”

“Free Speech TV is thrilled to host the nationwide broadcast premiere of Power Struggle, and is excited to help spark a series of conversations about the importance of citizen activism, the risks involved in nuclear power, and how to find a just, sustainable, and safe solution for green energy going forward,” said Nina Henderson Moore, FSTV’s Chief Content Officer.

Power Struggle broadcasts are scheduled on FSTV as follows:

• Thursday, March 28 – 8:00 pm ET – National Broadcast Premiere
• Friday, March 29 – 3:00 am ET
• Sunday, March 31 – 2:00 am ET
• Sunday, March 31 – 9:00 am ET
• Sunday, March 31 – 8:00 pm ET
• Wednesday, April 3 – 3:00 am ET
• Sunday, April 7 – 11:00 am ET
• Sunday, April 14 – 4:00 pm ET

About Power Struggle

Filmed over five years, this feature-length documentary chronicles the heated political battle to close the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, located on the banks of the Connecticut River in southern Vermont. The film captures perspectives on all sides of the controversy, including from local residents both for and against nuclear power, elected officials (including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin), nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen, a Vermont Yankee spokesperson, and federal nuclear regulators.

Power Struggle is a timely, inspiring story of democracy in action. It’s a story about whether citizens’ voices will be heard against big moneyed interests, and what people are doing locally right now to make a difference for a sustainable energy future.

Official Film Website and Trailer: www.PowerStruggleMovie.com

Film Trailer (available for embedding on media websites): https://vimeo.com/180335949

Free Speech TV Webpage: Freespeech.org/PowerStruggle

Download High-Res Photos for Media Use: www.turningtide.com/POWER_STRUGGLE-HQ-JPEGS.zip

Prior Media Coverage:

WPTZ-NBC 5: “Vt. Yankee Story Finally Hits Big Screen” (3-min video segment featuring Robbie Leppzer, Arnie and Maggie Gundersen)

Vermont Public Radio: “‘Power Struggle’ Documentary Chronicles Efforts to Close Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant”(10-min radio interview with Robbie Leppzer)

Pacifica Radio – Project Censored: “Nuclear Power Problems with Robbie Leppzer, Arnie and Maggie Gundersen” (21-min radio interview with Robbie Leppzer, Arnie and Maggie Gundersen)

About Robbie Leppzer

Robbie Leppzer is an award-winning independent documentary filmmaker and radio producer based in Wendell, Massachusetts, who has directed more than 30 documentaries over the past 40 years. His critically acclaimed feature-length and short documentaries, as well as commissioned television news magazine segments, about contemporary social issues have been broadcast by CNN International, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, HBO/Cinemax, PBS, CNN, Sundance Channel, HDNet, Free Speech TV, Link TV, National Public Radio, and Pacifica Radio.

From the environmental protests of the 1970s, to the growing global peace, social justice and environmental movements of the new millennium, Leppzer has chronicled grassroots social movements over the last four decades.

“I film stories of people who stick their necks out to take risks for grassroots social change and build bridges across cultures,” said Leppzer.

Many of Leppzer’s previous documentary films have aired on Free Speech TV, including An Act of Conscience, The Peace Patriots, Columbus Didn’t Discover Us, Harvest of Peace, and Seabrook 1977.

About Free Speech TV

Free Speech TV is a national, independent, nonprofit news network committed to advancing progressive social change. As the alternative to media networks owned by billionaires, governments and corporations, Free Speech TV elevates unique perspectives through daily news programs, independent documentaries and special events coverage.

Free Speech TV reaches more than 38 million households nationally on DISH (channel 9415), DIRECTV (348), Sling TV, and over 150 community cable affiliates. Free Speech TV streams live 24/7 at freespeech.org, is available on-demand and streaming on Roku and Apple TV, and maintains an active presence on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Free Speech TV believes a more just and democratic world is possible when the media empowers people with the information they need to fight for what matters.