IN Toronto magazine

IN THEIR OWN WORDS:

“Water is life. It’s not like a debate about running shoes or oil. It’s a debate about life. We all need water  to survive”

“The general public believes we have this tremendous abundance of water that will never run out,” says lesbian filmmaker Liz Marshall, speaking of her latest film Water On the Table, a documentary about Canada’s relationship to its water resources. Shot in locations from the Alberta Tar Sands to Simcoe County, the film tackles the question of whether water is a commercial good, like Coca-Cola or a human right, like air, while following activist and “water warrior” Maude Barlow in her pursuit to protect water from corporate privatization. “The only direction I gave her was to not look at the camera,” says Marshall, noting the film’s cinéma-vérité style. Though alarming, the documentary is not all doom and gloom. “We didn’t focus on drought and pollution,” says Marshall. “It’s about water as a life force.” Water On the Table won Best Canadian Feature Film at the 2010 Planet In Focus film festival and was nominated for a Gemini.

Water On the Table is available on DVD at wateronthetable.com/shop