“From the Shadow of the Stacks” takes a past, present, and future approach to telling the story of East Helena, Montana’s tumultuous relationship with the ASARCO Smelter and the lead contaminants left behind. It opens with a brief recap of some of the town’s history, then jumps to modern-day East Helena and the issues it faces, and concludes with a look at what’s to come for the smelter town. 

“From the Shadow of the Stacks” originated from a school assignment at the media arts program at the University of Montana. A group of aspiring filmmakers and total strangers were given the task to conceptualize, develop, produce, and release a documentary film rooted in Montana within the span of the semester. What started as homework evolved, almost immediately, into something greater.

Despite the origins of the project, the film itself is just as blue collar, just as DIY, and just as fueled by blood, sweat, and tears as the town of East Helena itself is. When financial backing from the college fell through, the filmmakers ended up financing the film all on their own. They also volunteered more than their required time to make weekly trips from Missoula (where the filmmakers lived) to East Helena in order to capture the story.