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Friday, March 28, 2014

Water Rights Film Festival! by Jennifer Chesnut

A film festival about water rights in Canada and around the world. 

What needs to be done to minimize future water loss for the next generation? 

From Friday April 4th through Sunday April 6th at Museum London, the Water Rights Film Festival comes to London. Created by the Solidarity Film Coalition with numerous sponsors like Museum London, The Council of Canadians, and LACASA, this is an opportunity for people to check out some interesting facts about the substance that makes up three quarters of this blue planet, and sustains all our lives. 

Learn about the impact of our water use on the next generation, transnational corporate influence on water bodies, the 2012 elimination of 99% of rules protecting Canadian rivers and lakes, successful community activities to protect water, and more. 

Feature Films include: Blue Gold, Waterlife, Bottled Life; Sacred Spirit of Water. 

Highlights: 

Friday evening, Josephine Mandamin, Anishinabe elder, will speak the aboriginal perspective on water, sharing stories from her experience being the Great Lakes Water Walker. The feature film will be Blue Gold. 

Saturday morning at 11 a.m., in conjunction with the Boys and Girls Club, all are invited to a community water walk at the Forks of the Thames. Following the walk, there will be animated shorts on water inside the Museum’s cinema. At 1 p.m., the full feature documentary program will resume with Waterlife. Mike Nagy, president of Water Watchers, will speak about Nestlé’s involvement in the Guelph area watershed. 

Sunday afternoon, Juan Sanchez, editor of Indigenous Message on Water, will share water poetry. Both the films Bottled Life and Sacred Spirit of Water will be shown. 

The Water Rights film festival is open to all for learning more about the force that constitutes eighty percent of our bodies, and holds all life in its flow! Admission is free. 

In order to protect water for the next generation, we must learn how we are changing it, and change the way we perceive it. 

Expect excellent films, speakers, poems, and a walk for water! Come for part or all of the weekend. Bring a water-loving buddy. 

For more information: 

http://waterrightsfilmfestival.wordpress.com/

solidarityfilmcoalition@outlook.com 

(originally published in London Fuse: http://londonfuse.ca/event/water-rights-film-festival)


03/31/15
For Immediate Release:
Water at Risk:
A documentary tour of the Great Lakes and beyond with a Thames River walk and the legendary Water Walker
From Friday, April 4th through Sunday, April 6th at Museum London, the Water Rights Film Festival ripples through London, Ontario. This free festival highlights issues related to water in Canada and around the world.  Emphasis will be placed on emerging risks to the Great Lakes. Special guest, the legendary Anishinabe elder and Water Walker, Josephine Mandamin, has walked the perimeter of all five lakes since 2003 “to raise awareness that our clean and clear water is being polluted by chemicals, vehicle emissions, motor boats, sewage disposal, agricultural pollution, leaking landfill sites, and residential usage.” Including a community water walk on Saturday morning, 11 AM, at the Fork of the Thames, this free public event is an opportunity to learn about the substance that makes up nearly three quarters of this blue planet. Created by the Solidarity Film Coalition with numerous sponsors such as Museum London, The Council of Canadians, Seeds of Hope, and LACASA, one organizer, Roberta Cory says, “In order to protect water for the next generation, we must learn how we are changing it, and change the way we perceive it.” 
Friday evening, Mandamin will speak the aboriginal perspective on water. Saturday morning at 11am, in conjunction with the Boys and Girls Club, all are invited to a community water walk at the Forks of the Thames. Following the walk, there will be animated shorts on water inside the Museum’s cinema. Mike Nagy, president of Water Watchers, will speak about Nestle’s involvement in the Guelph area watershed. Sunday afternoon, Juan Sanchez, editor of Indigenous Message on Water, will share poetry to help people “remember the sacred nature of Water”. Feature films shown throughout the weekend include: Blue Gold, Waterlife, Bottled Life and the Sacred Spirit of Water.
The Water Rights film festival not only includes films but is a multi-faceted event open to the public to learn more about the force that constitutes eighty percent of our bodies and holds all life in its flow! Some questions that will be investigated are: What impacts are water corporations, like Nestle in Guelph Ontario, having on the Great Lakes watershed? What can we expect from the 2012 elimination of 99% of rules protecting Canadian rivers and lakes? How can we protect the Great Lakes for future generations?
All are invited to meet experts from across the province, participate in a guided walk around the Thames, listen to water poetry from an indigenous perspective, and view excellent films at the Water Rights Film Festival.
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For more information:
Roberta Cory:  robertacory@rogers.com, (519) 601-2053
Paula Papel: solidarityfilmcoalition@outlook.com , (519) 697-9252

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