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Almost 2,000 miles apart, eight Syracuse University students and about 10 students attending Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in Puerto Rico collaborated on a project. For a year, they filmed, edited and produced a documentary highlighting environmental justice issues without having met face-to-face.

“We can provide a vessel for these kinds of communities to connect with each other and actually show that if we were better able to connect communities together, perhaps we would amplify the urgency of the issue,” Chelsea Sanchez-Piovanetti, SU junior and a producer of the film, said.

On Sept. 20, the documentary, “A Tale of Two Cities: Reclaiming Niagara Falls and Salinas,” debuted at the Newhouse School of Public Communications. The documentary was split into two parts, one dedicated to environmental crises in Niagara Falls, New York, and the other to environmental crises in Salinas, Puerto Rico. The film also screened at the Syracuse International Film Festival and the Puerto Rico Film Festival.

Students told the story through the lens of those affected in Niagara Falls and Salinas. Historically, these two locations have been heavily impacted by pollution and chemical plants, Sanchez-Piovanetti said.

“The greater purpose of the documentary is to show that this isn’t just an isolated event, this is happening everywhere,” Murphy McFarlene, SU junior and production manager, said. “This isn’t just in Niagara Falls, this isn’t just in Puerto Rico. It’s probably happening right under your noses, wherever you go.”

Alhena Chacón, an alumna of........

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