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Water Docs Film Festival 2015 Kicks Off With
DamNation, March 20
Water Docs Celebrates Canada Water Week and World Water Day with a buoyant, nine-day
lineup of water-themed film screenings and related activities at the Art Gallery of Ontario,
March 20-28
Water Docs Family Day activities feature film screenings, the Water Brothers live, along with
fun, interactive games for the whole family, March 21 at the AGO’s Jackman Hall
Water Docs programming flows across Toronto as Seeking the Current highlights
Soirée Francophone at Alliance Française, March 27
To tweet this release:
TORONTO (February XX, 2015) – A deluge of stunning documentaries celebrating the magical,
mythical, life-sustaining properties of water rise to centre stage at the 4th annual Water Docs
Film Festival, kicking off Friday March 20. With a lineup of nine feature film screening events
and dozens of short films during the nine-day showcase (March 20-28), the festival opens with
SXSW 2014 prize winner DamNation – a visually stunning exploration of changing national
attitudes toward big dams. Directors Ben Knight and Travis Rummel cinematically deconstruct
dams as engineering marvels, skillfully highlighting a growing awareness that the future of
humanity is bound to the life and health of rivers. The opening screening takes place on Friday,
March 20 at 7 p.m. at the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Jackman Hall (317 Dundas Street West,
McCaul Street entrance). The screening will be followed by Water Docs official opening night
reception at the Bau-Xi Photo Gallery – open to all screening attendees (324 Dundas St. W.).
Photo from DamNation (Courtesy Ben Knight and Travis Rummel)
Throughout the nine-day festival, Water Docs salutes Canada Water Week and World Water
Day (March 22) with a special lineup of community screenings and events, along with Q&A
sessions with filmmakers and experts from the water community. A complete list of festival
programming is available online at http://www.waterdocs.ca.
“This year’s slate of water-themed documentaries and shorts provides a thirst-quenching
glance at the magnificence of the world, capturing its largesse while also shining a spotlight on
the reality of its finite fresh water supply,” said Stan Gibson, Founder and Executive Director,
Ecologos and the Water Docs Film Festival. “Beyond stunning cinematography and rich
storytelling, the goal of Water Docs is to unite and engage audiences in a discussion around the
preservation and protection of water sources, and we are proud to provide a platform that
enlightens, engages and motivates the desire to drive change.”
Returning to Water Docs following its awe-inspiring debut at the festival in 2014, the popular
interactive mobile installation Pedal Power will be on site at festival headquarters, at the
entrance of Jackman Hall throughout the duration of the festival. Visitors are welcome to use
the bicycle style foot pedal to draw water up a clear tube and into a glass, providing a real-time,
kinesthetic experience of how much energy and effort it takes to bring water to people when
and where they use it.
Ticket information is available online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/profile/557968
Festival passes are available for $40 in advance / $50 at the door (does not include Family Day).
General Admission: $12.50 advance, $15 at the door.
Students / Seniors: $11 in advance / $13 at the door.
The following is a listing of the Water Docs Film Festival slate of feature documentary
programming:
Wednesday, March 18 – Pre-Festival Intercultural Screening at University of Toronto with the
Ontario Water Works Association: Monsoon – 5:30 p.m., HS 160, Health Sciences Building, 155
College Street.
**FREE OF CHARGE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Filmed over the course of India’s 2013 monsoon season in ultra-high definition 4K, multiple awardwinning Canadian filmmaker Sturla Gunnarsson chased the monsoon on its annual journey from
the southern state of Kerala, where it first makes landfall, to India's north-eastern state of
Meghalaya ('Place of the Clouds’), where the clouds go to die. A cinematic journey into the terrain
where nature, science, belief and wonder converge in one of the most astonishing and
breathtaking landscapes on earth, Monsoon captures the timelessness and rich human drama of
our engagement with the natural world. Please visit this link to view the trailer.
Thursday, March 19 – Water Activities for the Whole Family: 12:00-4:00 p.m., AGO Basement
(317 Dundas St. W.) NO SCREENINGS. **Facilitated by Ecoloodi and Engineers Without Borders.
As part of the AGO’s March Break Programming, Water Docs Family Day is a special day filled
with fun and engaging water-themed activities for the whole family. With interactive games
and interesting activities for all ages, participants learn all about water and just how important
it is for everyone. The events take place in Seminar Room 1 @ the AGO. Tickets for this special
day can be purchased through the AGO directly and include all of the AGO’s regular March
Break programming.
Friday, March 20 – Opening Night: DamNation – 7:00 p.m., AGO Jackman Hall (317 Dundas St. W.,
McCaul Street entrance)
Directed by Ben Knight and Travis Rummel, the film explores the change in national attitude
from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that the future of
humanity is bound to the life and health of rivers. Where obsolete dams come down, rivers
bound back to life, giving salmon and other wild fish the right of return to primeval spawning
grounds, after decades without access. Click here for the trailer
Saturday, March 21 – Family Day: The Water Brothers’ The Big Thaw and No Woman, No
Water, Family Day Activities -12 Noon-4:00 p.m. – The Water Brothers screenings begin at 2:00
p.m., AGO Jackman Hall (317 Dundas St. W., McCaul Street entrance) **Filmmakers in
attendance for a post-screening Q&A.
Water Docs delivers a special presentation of The Big Thaw and No Woman, No Water, along
with a selection of shorts by the National Film Board of Canada and others. The Water Brothers
is an eco-adventure documentary series that follows Alex and Tyler Mifflin as they explore the
world and people’s relationship with water.
With rising sea levels, the fate of the world depends on slowing the Big Thaw. In The Big Thaw, The
Water Brothers visit the Arctic to get the facts and find answers. And in No Woman, No Water, the
Brothers travel to Africa to the most water-scarce regions of Tanzania and Kenya, to see firsthand
how simple water projects can make huge changes towards economic advancement – and how it
is women who hold the key to improving clean water and sanitation access in their local
communities. Click here for the series promo trailer.
As part of the AGO’s March Break Programming, Water Docs Family Day is also a special day
filled with fun and engaging activities for the whole family that will teach you all about water
and just how important it is for everyone through interactive games and other interesting
activities for all ages. Join Ecoloodi and Engineers Without Borders in Seminar Room 1 @ the
AGO for your March Break!
Saturday, March 21 – Divide in Concord – 7:00 p.m., AGO Jackman Hall (317 Dundas St. W.,
McCaul Street entrance) **Filmmaker Q&A
Director Kris Kaczor’s feature-length documentary follows the entertaining tale of the battle of
banning bottled water in small town America. The year was 1775 in Concord, Massachusetts when
colonists fired the infamous ‘shot heard round the world’ that began the American Revolution.
One hundred years later, the work of local resident Henry David Thoreau began the environmental
movement. And now, the spirit of revolution has returned to town, as Jean Hill, a fiery 84-year-old
widow and mother of four, wants to ban the sale of bottled water from Concord when her
grandson tells her about the disastrous environmental effects of the empty plastic bottles. After a
failed attempt to get a bylaw banning the sale of single-serve plastic bottles at the 2010 and 2011
Town Meetings passed, she vows to continue the crusade with neighbour and Harvard Law Grad
Jill Appel. With billions of dollars at stake, if enacted, the law would be the first of its kind in the
world. But all are not in agreement with the ban. **Filmmaker Kris Kaczor will join the audience
remotely for a post-screening Q&A. Click here for the trailer.
Sunday, March 22 – World Water Day: Oil & Water – 7:00 p.m., AGO Jackman Hall (317 Dundas
St. W., McCaul Street entrance) **Filmmakers Q&A
Oil & Water is the true story of two boys coming of age as they each confront one of the
world’s worst toxic disasters. Filmmakers Laurel Spellman Smith and Francine Strickwerda chart
the lives of Hugo and David, who were born on opposite ends of the oil pipeline. Hugo comes to
America to fight for the survival of his Cofán tribe in the Ecuadorian Amazon, while David goes
to Ecuador to launch the world’s first company to certify oil as “fair trade.” Their journeys lead
them to explore what could be a more just future, not just for the Cofán, but for all people
around the world born with oil beneath their feet. **Filmmakers Spellman Smith and
Strickwerda join in remotely for Q&A. Please visit this link for the trailer.
Tuesday, March 24 – WD@S Student Recognition Day – 9:00 a.m., Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (506
Bloor St W) **PRIVATE SCREENING EVENT
Water Docs presents a collection of student films from its Water Docs @ School Action Projects
program. Water warrior and activist Robyn Hamlyn, joins this special student celebration as
guest speaker.
Wednesday, March 25 – The Overview Effect: Shifting Perspective – A Water Docs / Waterlution
Workshop: OVERVIEW – 7:00 p.m., Friends House (60 Lowther Avenue) – Facilitator: Duncan
Holmes
In all you’ve lived and seen, have you had an instance where you found meaning in something
that is bigger than yourself? A moment of perspective shift? What changed after this moment?
How can a perspective shift lead to behavioural shift? What is YOUR role in shifting your own
perspective and behaviour and that of others on important water matters? Water Docs invites
audiences to attend a stimulating evening with the screening of two films followed by
interactive dialogue.
OVERVIEW
Astronauts who have seen the Earth from space have often described the ‘overview effect’ as
an experience that has transformed their perspective of the planet and mankind’s place upon
it, and enabled them to perceive it as our shared home, without boundaries between nations or
species. OVERVIEW is a short film that explores this perspective through interviews with
astronauts who have experienced the overview effect. The film features insights from
commentators and thinkers on the wider implications and importance of this understanding for
humanity as a whole, and its relevance in meeting the tremendous challenges facing the planet.
The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible
"There is a vast territory between what we're trying to leave behind, and where we want to go and we don't have any maps for that territory." – Charles Eisenstein
Filmed in the fading light on the shores of Northern Scotland, this short film captures Charles
Eisenstein in a moment of grief and reflection. The familiar story of the past is crumbling, while
the new story has yet to arrive. In a time of social and ecological crisis, the film questions what
can individuals do in this space between?
Thursday, March 26 – Three short films about water: The Water Tower, Chasing Water, Delta
Dawn 7:00 p.m., AGO Jackman Hall (317 Dundas St. W., McCaul Street entrance)
Water Docs presents three short water-themed documentaries by filmmaker Pete McBride. In The
Water Tower, McBride documents his 2012 visit to Mt. Kenya, home to the Ngai that provides
70% of the nation’s water supply. Having climbed its false summit at nine years of age, McBride
makes the shocking discovery that this is not the same mountain he scaled as a young boy. Click
here to view the trailer.
In Chasing Water, McBride teams up with his bush-pilot father to capture unique footage of
the Colorado River, source to sea, shadowing the adventure of Jon Waterman who became the
first to paddle the entire length of the river. Visit this link to view the trailer.
The Colorado River ran to the sea for six million years but stopped nearly two decades ago. Delta
Dawn captures the experimental pulse of water that flooded this river of sand in 2014, as a team
paddled the crest to see if they could be the first to navigate this forgotten delta and once again
kiss the sea. Please visit this link to the view the trailer.
Thursday, March 26 – Intercultural Screening: Narmada: A Valley Rises – 7:00 p.m., Noor Cultural
Centre Auditorium, 123 Wynford Drive **Q&A with filmmaker
This inspiring film documents the largest multiple dam project in India, which pits the villagers
against the authorities promoting it. The sacred Narmada River flows through some of Asia’s most
fertile land. The 1994 film offers a compelling and intimate portrait of a unique movement while
raising critical and universal issues of human rights, social justice, and development within a
democracy. The Narmada saga continues to this day. Filmmaker Ali Kazimi, now Associate
Professor of York University’s Department of Film, will be on hand for discussion following the
screening, with reflections on other water issues.
Friday, March 27 – Soirée Francophone Intercultural Screening: Seeking the Current – 7:00
p.m., Alliance Française (24 Spadina Road) – French with English subtitles. Francophone and
Anglophone audiences alike are invited to join this intercultural screening. **Q&A with
filmmaker
Nicolas Boisclair and Alexis de Gheldere collaborate with renowned Canadian actor Roy Dupuis for
this documentary of passionate environmental advocacy. Seeking the Current is a convincing
critique of Hydro Quebec’s Romaine River initiative–a plan to construct four dams along the 500kilometre waterway. Narrated by Dupuis and framed by the filmmakers’ 2008 canoe journey down
the river, the film details the history of Quebec’s energy industry, the likely environmental costs of
the new project and the plethora of alternatives to hydroelectricity. Filmmaker Nicolais Boisclair is
on hand for a live, post-screening Q&A session en français. Trailer available here.
Saturday, March 28 – Closing Night: Antarctica: A Year On Ice – 7:00 p.m., AGO Jackman Hall (317
Dundas St. W., McCaul Street entrance)
Anthony Powell’s ANTARCTICA: A YEAR ON ICE is a visually stunning journey to the end of the
world with the hardy and devoted people who live there year-round. The research stations
scattered throughout the continent host a close-knit international population of scientists,
technicians and craftsmen. Isolated from the rest of the world, enduring months of unending
darkness followed by periods when the sun never sets, Antarctic residents experience firsthand
the beauty and brutality of the most severe environment on Earth. Capturing epic battles against
hellacious storms, quiet reveries of nature's grandeur, and everyday moments of work and
laughter, this unique documentary shows a steadfast community thriving in a land few humans
have experienced. Using specially modified cameras and spectacular time-lapse photography, the
film captures the splendor of the region like no film before. Please visit this link for the trailer.
About Water Docs Film Festival
Dedicated to presenting independent, ground-breaking, water-themed documentaries, Water
Docs Film Festival is an annual nine-day exhibition that celebrates and promotes water
protection and conservation. Water Docs provides a platform for vital discussions, and serves as
a catalyst for change by providing opportunities to take action. Now in its fourth year, the
festival delivers nine diverse learning and action programs developed under the Water Docs
Film Festival banner, including the innovative Water Docs @ School Action Projects, currently
rolled out in over a dozen Grade 8 classes across Ontario. Water Docs Film Festival is produced
by Ecologos, a charitable voluntary organization that engages thousands of people each year in
programs that celebrate a sense of reverence for water, inform about the challenges that
threaten clean water supplies, and inspire action in defence of nature’s most precious resource.
For more information, contact:
Patricia -- Water Docs Publicity -- 416.302.9318 or waterdocspublicity@gmail.com