Many documentaries have been produced on international water issues and the future of water in society.
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.
Between the Tides is an independently produced documentary film that explores the plight of environmental refugees in the coastal Sundarban region of Southeast India and Western Bangladesh. The film was shot, produced and managed by Tyler Quintano and Nick Manning.
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?
An American four-part documentary series about water, money, politics, and the transformation of nature. The film chronicles the growth of a large community in the western American desert. It brought abundance and the legacy of risk it has created in the United States and abroad. The first three episodes are based on Marc Reisner’s book, Cadillac Desert (1986), that delves into the history of water use and misuse in the American West.
A portrait of the stresses and strains imposed on Palestinian society by Israel’s almost total control over access to water and sewage facilities in the West Bank, told in the words of ordinary people. A compelling picture of the impact of military occupation on everyday life.
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.
Liquid Assets: The Story of Our Water Infrastructure
Liquid Assets, a ninety-minute documentary, tells the story of essential infrastructure systems: water, wastewater, and stormwater. These systems — some in the ground for more than 100 years — provide a critical public health function and are essential for economic development and growth.
The film is part of a research project funded by the Art & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) entitled ‘Liquid city: water, landscape and social formation in twenty-first century Mumbai’. The aim of the project is to explore the material and metaphorical dimensions to water and landscape in the city of Mumbai. Built on a series of islands, Mumbai is surrounded by seawater, yet freshwater distribution problems persist.
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, others say it is just good marketing. You be the judge.
This film by Stephanie Soechtig examines the fundamental question: is access to drinking water a basic human right or is water a commodity that should be bought and sold? Specifically, it looks at the “big business of bottled water.”
Dr. Veer Bhadra Mishra personifies the synergistic balance of science and spirituality through his relationship with the Ganges river in India. An excerpt from the documentary series “The Sacred Balance” with David Suzuki, produced by Kensington Communications.
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.
Over seven minutes, the film explores the bottled water industry’s attacks on tap water and its use of seductive, environmental-themed advertising to cover up the mountains of plastic waste it produces. The film concludes with a call to ‘take back the tap,’ not only by making a personal commitment to avoid bottled water, but by supporting investments in clean, available tap water for all.
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.
Touched by Water dives into the lush world of bathing rituals, exploring the traditions of our essential bond with water. The variations are enormous, the similarities staggering. From ancient Roman baths to elite European spas, from Turkish hammams and the Ganges to a high-tech multimedia pool, the film explores the hidden meaning behind the simple and universal act of bathing.
A film about water and climate change produced by Leonardo DiCaprio.
This film is a six-part series (available on You Tube) that details the Pan-Asian Water Colloquium in Chennai, India in 2008. This film highlights this meeting of water operators, water engineers, economists, activists, policymakers, and academics from around the world as they discuss the importance of democratic management of water systems and the human right to water.
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.
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.
One Water is an immersive experience that shows the state of the world’s fresh water and its affect on people, which is becoming more aggravated by population growth and climate change and compromises the future of all life on the planet. This spectacular film also raises the essential question about clean, safe water being a basic human right. Source: University of Miami
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.
This documentary that explores the notions of “community”, in the context of development. The people of Lele, a village near Kathmandu, narrate the history of how they set up a committee to manage their drinking water system. The narrative moves from a fairly uncomplicated story told by the leaders about the initial installation to the complexities of gender and caste relations.
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.
Waterbuster is a documentary chronicling the dislocation and relocation of the Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara Nation of North Dakota due to a dam that inundated their homeland along the banks of the Missouri River. It is also the personal story of the director’s family, whose life choices were influenced by this powerful reshaping of the landscape.
FILM FESTIVALS and WATER
DC Environmental Film Festival – World Water Day Observance – Washington DC
Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival - Seattle
MountainFilm Festival – Moving Mountains Symposium on Water – Telluride
Voices from the Waters – India
Be sure and check out the wonderful Film Forum on InfoChange for more water films from India and South Asia!
2 Comments
June 3, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Purna-ji: How are you? I am a friend of Wayne Amtzis, and he recommended your website. I would love to meet up with you and talk about the work you’ve been doing around water. I also made a documentary called PANI (WATER), which you can find here: http://www.sansarmedia.blogspot.com
Warm regards,
Sushma
January 24, 2010 at 5:15 pm
For a couple good films about the history of water in the west, check out the movie “China Town” and the video version of Marc Reisner’s book “Cadillac Desert.”