Pierce Brosnan and wife Keely premiere doc at Mendocino Film Fest

MENDOCINO, Calif. (KTVU) - Pierce Brosnan is one of Hollywood's biggest stars, but he's also a passionate environmentalist.

He came to Northern California to talk about a new documentary he produced with his wife, Keely.

"It's nice to be back. It's been awhile", Keely Shaye Smith told KTVU.

"How could it not be good to be back in Mendocino?" added Pierce.

The couple screened their new documentary Poisoning Paradise last weekend at the Mendocino Film Festival.

The movie documents the struggle to try to stop experimental pesticide use in Kauai, where the couple has a home.

Keely directed and produced the film. Pierce is the Executive Producer.

"They're experimenting with experimental pesticides and experimental crops. So Kauai is ground zero for these experimental test fields," She said.

The film investigates what it calls "chemical cocktails" that are sprayed up to 300 days a year, 16 times a day near schools, homes, and environmentally sensitive areas.

"We think we've put together an informative, insightful and provocative film about the subject matter," Keely told KTVU.

The film's release comes at a time when the Trump administration is rolling back environmental protections, something that doesn't sit well with Brosnan.

"What's happening in the country is very unsettling and the man that's in power, 45, has this responsibility to the people which seems to be causing a great rift in a beautiful country, and as an Irishman, as an immigrant who is now an American citizen it just hurts my heart to see what is happening here," he said.

"Certainly if the science says we're in trouble and climate change is real we have to listen to that," added Keely.

She has a Bay Area connection. She was born in Vallejo and her parents still live there.
In fact, her grandparents are from Albion on the Mendocino coast.

And while Kauai has been home for the last 15 years, the beautiful solitude there is no sanctuary from enviromental dangers.

"I saw it as a much broader issue, a much more world wide issue. Because what's happening on Kauai is simply a microcosm of what's happening to the rest of the world," she said.
KTVU sat down with the couple the day after President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord.

"What happened yesterday was disgraceful," said Brosnan.

"Shouldn't have happened. Absolutely not."

Keely compared the government's differing reactions to enviromental issues and financial institutions.

"Someone said if the enviroment and the earth were a bank, it would have been saved."

The couple says now more than ever people who are concerned about the environment need to stand up.

As Pierce Brosnan put it: "People have to fight back and say enough".