An intimate portrait of international water activist Maude Barlow and the debate over whether water is a commercial good or a human right.
WATER ON THE TABLE features Maude Barlow, who is considered an "international water-warrior" for her crusade to have water declared a human right. "Water must be declared a public trust and a human right that belongs to the people, the ecosystem and the future, and preserved for all time and practice in law. Clean water must be delivered as a public service, not a profitable commodity."
The film intimately captures the public face of Maude Barlow as well as the unscripted woman behind the scenes. The camera shadows her life on the road in Canada -- including an eye-opening visit to Alberta's tar sands -- and the United States over the course of a year as she serves as the UN Senior Advisor on Water to Fr. Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, President of the 63rd Session of the United Nations.
More than a portrait of an activist, WATER ON THE TABLE presents several dramatic opposing arguments. Barlow's critics are policy and economic experts who argue water is no different than any other resource, and that the best way to protect freshwater is to privatize it. It is proposed that Canada bulk-export its water to the United States in the face of an imminent water crisis.
Award
~ Best Canadian Feature Film, Planet in Focus International Environmental Film Festival
|