“Dark Waters,” coming to the Harbor Theater Friday, Jan. 10 through Thursday, Jan. 16 brings a special speaker to the Saturday, Jan. 11 screening at 7 p.m.

“Dark Waters” tells the shocking story of DuPont Chemicals, the giant corporation that hid a dark secret about their successful product, Teflon, after it found that the chemicals used in that product caused a growing number of unexplained deaths.

In the film, Mark Ruffalo (nominated for Best Actor in “Spotlight,” the film that won the Best Picture Oscar in 2015) plays the West Virginia attorney Rob Bilott, who uncovers that secret and exposes the company to litigation.

Ruffalo has a family connection to our region. His mother, Marie Rose Ruffalo, an artist, and his stepfather, Jerry Hull, live in Boothbay Harbor year-round. Hull has agreed to introduce the film that night, and tell us a little about his stepson, the crusader, who has stood up to corporations destroying our environment not only in film but in his own life.

When Ruffalo bought a home in Calicoon, a small town in the New York Catskills, he discovered that across the border in Pennsylvania a large corporation was doing oil fracking. He immediately jumped in to oppose such action. When he got involved with the film, “Dark Waters,” he discovered that PFAS chemicals are a family of thousands of highly toxic “forever” chemicals that don’t break down and can stay in our bodies and our environment for decades.

Now Ruffalo and the other producers of the film have launched a campaign called “Fight Forever Chemicals,” to fight for stronger environmental protection against corporate malfeasance.

Hull will tell us more about that campaign, and why his stepson has always risen to the call when he finds an environmental problem. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. Eventide Specialties will present a wine and cheese reception before the intro to the film which starts at 6:45. The film is rated (PG-13 and runs 2 hours, 6 minutes). Tickets are $10 ($8 for members).

“It's a perfect movie, and not the least of its power is due to Ruffalo's flawless performance.” -- Rex Reed, Observer