Internationally recognized film director Kameron Waters has roots in Augusta and is honoring his roots by making sure Augusta is included in the international release of his film “Christspiracy: The Spirituality Secret” which premiered on red carpets in Los Angeles and London just this past week.
The international release of the film is scheduled for March 20 and there will be special showings in Augusta on March 23 at Regal Cinemas in Augusta Exchange with a meet and greet with the director after the shows.
“Christspiracy,” co-directed by Kip Andersen along with Waters, is a documentary that explores the relationship between humans and the ethical treatment of food animals and follows many different religions views and tenets on the subject.
A-list Hollywood actor Jaoquin Phoenix is quoted as praising the film, stating that it “exposes unforgivable truths.”
Andersen has emerged as a critically acclaimed director for his projects “What the Health,” “Cowspiracy” and “Seaspiracy,” the latter which achieved an 87% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The title of the film, according to Waters, should not necessarily be confused with the word “conspiracy” used in a negative manner against organized religion, rather, Waters says that his pursuit of the truth strengthened his personal faith.
Waters, a devout Christian, says that the title of the film is a play-on-word-translations, and the public should not be confused that the documentary is in any way an indictment of his faith.
If anything, there is a conspiracy of silence among religious leaders of many faiths due to the enormous influence of the meat-packing industry. Waters says that just because a package of meat is labeled “Halal” or “Kosher” does not necessarily mean that the animal was humanely slaughtered.
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“I am a vegan, but I really started out thinking, what does my religion have to say about humans sacrificing and, of course, eating animals? I was really thinking ‘what would Jesus do?’” Waters said.
The film not only explores the question of whether there is an ethical manner of slaughter, but also exposes some of the practices of the meat processing industry and some of the images are not for the faint-of-heart.
The content of the film has rattled the executives of the meat industry; Water says his film crew has had the police called on them even though the crew never stepped foot on the company’s property. One company even erected a giant fence to prevent any filming of its operations.
A native of Columbia County, Waters migrated to Atlanta working as a session drummer for both Christian as well as secular bands and eventually became a sought-after musician in Los Angeles, where he met Andersen and began assisting the up-and-coming director on his film projects.
According to Waters, “Christspiracy” was seven years in the making, and he ended up traveling to the farthest reaches of Earth, from Israel to India with a film crew in tow.
“This has been a labor of love for all of us involved and I can’t wait to bring “Christspiracy” to my hometown, this is a really exciting time for me and my family,” Waters said.
Tickets for the March 23 showing in Augusta can be purchased through the official “Christspiracy” website or directly from Regal Cinemas. There will be two showings with the director: 3:p.m. and 3:30 p.m. with a meet-and-greet to follow which is free to all ticket holders.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
