Resources: Documentaries

Water On The Table is a character-driven social issue documentary by Liz Marshall featuring Maude Barlow, who is known as an “international water-warrior” for her crusade against the privatisation of water. The film asks the question: Is water a commercial good like running shoes or Coca-Cola? Or, is water a human right like air?

Tapped is a condemnation of one of the most ubiquitous acts of consumption today, the purchase of bottled water. The scathing new documentary reveals a litany of damaging effects as it follows this environmental scourge from production to “disposal,” including the Pacific Ocean’s floating continents of plastic debris twice the size of the continental United States.

FLOW: For Love of Water (2008) Documentary film by Irena Salina. Flow confronts the disturbing reality that our crucial water resource is dwindling and greed just may be the cause. Featuring Maude Barlow who uncovers the corporate profiteering that drives global water business. Official selection at the January 2008 Sundance Film Festival documentary competition. Flowthefilm.com

Blue Gold: Life for Sale (2008) Documentary by Sam Bozzo. Featuring Maude Barlow, Tony Clarke, Vandana Shiva, Wenonah Hauter, Oscar Olivera, Michal Kravcik, Ric Davidge, Danielle Mitterrand, Ryan Hreljac, MCWC, Virginia Setshed, and Robert Glennon.

The Water Front: A story of an American city in crisis and what is in store for residents around the world facing their own water struggles. By Liz Miller 2007

a Drop of Life - Set in the near future, a Drop of Life is the story of two women, a village teacher in rural India and an African American corporate executive, whose disparate lives intersect when they are both confronted with lack of access to clean drinking water. Shalini Kantayya (2006)

A World Without Water (2006)
A documentary on global water issues that exposes the challenges of allowing market forces to determine water justice.

Troubled Waters (2006)

United Church of Christ produced this documentary hosted by actress Lynn Redgrave. The video looks at global water issues through the stories of the people who are struggling daily with the crisis.

SourceCode Season 2 - Episode 4: Greed/Water (2005)
Maude Barlow and other activists talk about water privitization

Thirst (2004)
A piercing look at the global corporate drive to control and profit from our water -- from bottles to tap.

Dead in the Water (2004)

A CBC and National Film Board documentary on the global water crisis.