Many influential documentaries have been produced that pertain to international water issues, as well as the future of water in modern-day society.
This page will be updated often, so check back…
CLIPS from FILMS on WATER ISSUES
The world is running out of its most precious resource. True Vision’s timely film tells of the personal tragedies behind the mounting privatization of water supplies.
Wars of the future will be fought over water, not oil. Water, the source of human survival, enters the global marketplace and political arena. Corporate giants, private investors, and corrupt governments vie for control of our dwindling supply, prompting protests, lawsuits, and revolutions from citizens fighting for the right to survive. Past civilizations have collapsed from poor water management. Can the human race survive?
This film states it was “established to raise awareness regarding the worsening global humanitarian water crisis. The projects centerpiece is an explosive and enlightening in-depth documentary…” Although, given its corporate and political sponsorship, some say it is just good marketing. You be the judge…
The Shape of Water is a feature documentary that tells the stories of powerful, imaginative and visionary women confronting the destructive development of the Third World with new cultures and a passion for change.
Residents of Highland Park, Michigan, known as the birthplace of the auto-industry, have received water bills as high as $10,000; they have had their water turned off, their homes foreclosed, and are struggling to keep water, a basic human right, from becoming privatized. The Water Front is the story of an American city in crisis but it is not just about water. The story touches on the very essence of our democratic system and is an unnerving indication of what is in store for residents around the world facing their own water struggles.
Thirst: Is water a human right or a commodity to be bought and sold in a global marketplace?
This documentary aired on PBS in 2004. It examines global water privatization through evaluation of case studies of Stockton, CA, Bolivia, and India.
MORE FILMS on WATER ISSUES
A Journey in the History of Water
The dramatic story of how the struggle for fresh water has shaped human society to a remarkable extent.
Wars of the future will be fought over water, not oil. Water, the source of human survival, enters the global marketplace and political arena. Corporate giants, private investors, and corrupt governments vie for control of our dwindling supply, prompting protests, lawsuits, and revolutions from citizens fighting for the right to survive. Past civilizations have collapsed from poor water management.
There’s a problem with the world’s water supply. One in four people on earth doesn’t have access to clean drinking water. Water and sanitation infrastructures are crumbling. We keep using more of it, yet continue to degrade and deplete it. Powerful companies spotted a crisis and saw a business opportunity.
Water is the essence of life, sustaining every being on this planet. Without water, there would simply be no plants, no animals, and no people. But the global water supply isn’t just at risk, it’s already in crisis
Give Us Water Or Grant Us Death and Holy Hindon Or Dirty Drain
The statistics say it loud and clear. A study shows that in Hindon, located in western Uttar Pradesh, 107 people have died in the past five years of cancer caused by the consumption of water polluted by industrial effluents. In Jaibheem Nagar slum in Meerut, 124 deaths in the five-year period 2001 to 2006 were the result of contaminated groundwater. These startling facts are revealed in two documentaries made by Delhi-based filmmaker Raakesh Khatri. (InfoChange)
One Water is a global film about the state of potable water. While a 20 minute version of the film has been in circulation for a while, currently the interdisciplinary team is in the process of completing a feature length film shot in sixteen countries around the world.
This video documents the struggle of the Orange Farm Water Crisis Committee against water privatisation in Orange Farm, one of the poorest townships in South Africa.
Panihari: The Water Women of India
Indian-American filmmakers Abi Devan and Sudhi Rajagopal return to their homeland to document life in the desert communities of Rajasthan. Their journey leads them to the Panihari (women who fetch water).
Well known participants include authors Vandana Shiva (Water Wars) and Maude Barlow (Blue Gold: The Fight to End the Corporate Theft of the World’s Water). The documentary interweaves personal stories, strategy sessions, and analysis with striking footage of Japan. It was partially funded by Global Ministries of United Methodist Women and sponsored by Action Against Hunger.
More than ever, the runners and their team are committed to the land and people they visited. The international media has turned its eye to the expedition’s achievement, including the attention and support that they are bringing to the water crisis in Africa through H2O Africa.
RX For Survival: A Global Health Challenge
A documentary series from WGBH Boston, narrated by Brad Pitt, that explores today’s most pressing global health questions.
Thirst: Fighting the Corporate Theft of Our Water
Is water part of a shared “commons,” a human right for all people? Or is it a commodity to be bought, sold, and traded in a global marketplace? “Thirst” tells the stories of communities in Bolivia, India, and the United States that are asking these fundamental questions.
Through this engaging and empowering short documentary, grade 4 to 7 students learn that their local conservation efforts can have far-reaching results. This lesson is made concrete through the experience of youth in Matamoros, Mexico, where a severe water shortage led the city to take the unusual step of putting local children in charge of changing adult attitudes and habits.
Water for Life: Diary of J-Z in Africa
Jay takes a journey of a lifetime, discovering how lack of clean water leads to horrific conditions — and finding hope along the way.
Water Voices Documentary Series - ADB
The “Water Voices” documentary series recognizes the power of good examples and lessons learned to inspire ‘home grown’ solutions to water problems.
FILM FESTIVALS and WATER
DC Environmental Film Festival - World Water Day Observance at Carnegie Institution
10th Annual Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival - Seattle
May 3rd is the day for water films at the Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival in Seattle. Films that will be
shown include RiverWebs, River Ways, Unexpected Things Come Together on a River, Shifting
Currents, Thorn to be Wild, and The Water Front.
MountainFilm Festival in Telluride - Moving Mountains Symposium on Water
The biggest international film festival on water will be held for the third time in August 2008. The organizers are now looking for short, documentary, animation and feature films to be shown during the festival. Deadline for entries is 30th April, 2008.
More information: bangalorefilmsociety@gmail.com or waterjourneys@rediffmail.com
Be sure and check out the wonderful Film Forum on InfoChange for more water films from India and South Asia!
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Film documentaries address international water issues : Circle of Blue | WaterNews // March 19, 2008 at 7:33 am
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