(Irena Salina, US 2008, 83 min.)

People around the world are fighting for their basic human right to access free water. This provocative wake-up call of a documentary, which premiered at the 2008 High Falls Film Festival, introduces viewers to, among others: an African shantytown where citizens secretly reconnect their water pipes; a “water guru” who promotes community-based initiatives in India; and a Canadian author who exposes the disturbing realities behind the global bottled water business. Focusing on issues of pollution and corporate responsibility, filmmaker Salina depicts the increasingly at odds relationship between humans and the quintessence of our existence.

The panelists taking part in a post-film discussion are Salva Dut, a native of Sudan, Africa, living in Rochester, who has dedicated his life to drilling wells and providing safe drinking water in his native land; M. Ann Howard, associate professor of Science, Technology & Society, Rochester Institute of Technology; and Wayne Howard, chairman of the Sierra Club Great Lakes Committee.