Water On The Table premieres at Planet in Focus

Compelling and relevant documentary follows Maude Barlow in her quest  to have the UN declare water a human right

TORONTO, August 23 – On the heels of last month’s victorious vote by the United Nations General Assembly to recognize the human right to water and sanitation, Planet in Focus is pleased to announce the highly-anticipated theatrical screening of Water on the Table. This remarkable feature-length documentary screening from award-winning Canadian Director Liz Marshall takes place October 14 at 7 p.m. at the Royal Ontario Museum as part of the 11^th annual Planet in Focus International Environmental Film & Video Festival in Toronto.

The film follows tireless water advocate Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians as she works to have water declared a human right, during her term as Senior Advisor on Water to the 63rd President of the U.N. General Assembly.

Turning the lens on an issue of global importance, the film explores an ongoing moral debate and what Barlow describes as “a crisis of monumental proportions” through Canadian and US events and landscapes:  Is water a commercial good, like gold or oil? Or, is water a human right, like air?

As headlines flow with news of Pakistani floods, Russian and European droughts, water migration in Africa, melting icecaps, ocean oil spills, and continued extraction of oil from tar sands (which produces millions of barrels of toxic contaminated water as a byproduct), Barlow acts as a lightning rod, urging governments and the general population to disallow the privatization of water in order to protect it for future generations of life on our planet.

This powerful story is coupled with inspired visual imagery of watersheds, lakes, rivers and glaciers in Canada shot by virtuosic cinematographer Steve Cosens, CSC, in tandem with verité footage of Maude Barlow shot over the course of a year by Director Liz Marshall. The broadcast version premiered on the small screen as part of TVO’s multi-Gemini winning anthology series of Canadian-made films, The View From Here.

Planet in Focus represents the first screening of Water on the Table in its full-length theatrical version, and the first time Ms. Barlow will be speaking in Toronto since the historic resolution was passed. Canada abstained from the vote, along with 40 other countries. Both Maude Barlow and Liz Marshall will be present for a discussion following the screening.

About Planet in Focus
Planet in Focus is Canada’s leading non-profit environmental media arts organization, producing year-round programming across Canada and around the world and fostering a new generation of environmental filmmakers. The 11^th annual Planet in Focus International Environmental Film & Video Festival runs from October 13 to 17 in Toronto. Visit planetinfocus.org.

-30-

Media Contact: Rebecca Webster
416-562-5294
Rebecca@webstermediaconsulting.com