'Semper Fi' on Lejeune's bad water to debut

A documentary about the historic water contamination at Marines Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., will have its world premier this spring at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

"Semper Fi: Always Faithful" tracks the evolution of Marine veteran Jerry Ensminger into an environmentalist after the death of his young daughter, Janey, from leukemia in 1985.

Ensminger, a former drill instructor from White Lake, helped uncover voluminous details about the extent of contamination that poisoned the drinking water at Camp Lejeune for decades. A million people are believed to have been exposed to the water. Thousands, like Ensminger, suspect the illnesses suffered by themselves and their family members were caused by the poisons.

The movie's directors, Rachel Libert and Tony Hardmon, have spent at least two years working on the film.

Tribeca announced today that "Semper Fi" will be among a dozen films in its World Documentary Competition. The movie festival takes place from April 20 to May 1.

This story was originally published March 7, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "'Semper Fi' on Lejeune's bad water to debut."