Explores the collision of water rights, Indigenous beliefs, and resource extraction through the lives of three Latin American community leaders. The right to clean water is a global issue - in Latin America it has become a matter of life and death.
Water for Life / Agua es Vida tells the story of three extraordinary individuals: Berta Cáceres, a leader of the Lenca people in Honduras; Francisco Pineda, a subsistence farmer in El Salvador; and Alberto Curamil, an Indigenous Mapuche leader in Chile, all of whom refused to let government-supported industry and transnational corporations take their water and redirect it to mining, hydroelectric projects or large-scale agriculture. Despite reassurances from companies and the authorities, they knew what lay ahead: contaminated water, environmental devastation, and the destruction of their communities.
It is a story of courage and determination, betrayal and corruption, death threats and murder, and of unexpected victories in the countryside and in the courts. It is a story that asks how economic development can grow in harmony with environmental protections. Above all, Water for Life illuminates a growing recognition of Indigenous rights and a rising demand for corporate responsibility and environmental justice that's being seen around the world. It is a story that begins and ends with water.
Narrated by Diego Luna, and featuring the original song "Ko (Water)" performed by Lila Downs and Daniela Millaleo.
91 minutes
Subtitle options: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian
Directed by Will Parrinello
Produced by Will Parrinello, Rick Tejada-Flores, Maria Jose Calderon
Writer/Co-Producer: Sarah Kass
Editor: Maria Jose Calderon
Narrator: Diego Luna
Director of Photography: Vicente Franco
Senior Producer: Stephen Talbot
Consulting Editor: Quinn Costello
Original Music/Sound Design: Christopher Hedge
Executive Producer: Sandie Vizquez Pedlow
Education Impact Partner: Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
A Mill Valley Film Group Production
"Water, a central element of the narrative, is presented not only as an essential resource, but as a fundamental right...The impact of the documentary goes beyond the screen, acting as a call to action. By documenting the struggles of Curamil, Pineda and Cáceres, the film not only informs us, but also inspires us to get involved in defending the environment.
"At the intersection of neoliberal extractivism, environmental justice and Indigenous worldviews, we find three persons from Latin America who risk or lose their life to protect the rivers of their communities despite death threats and the killing of people close to them. In the end, after years of terror and abuse but also determination and strategy, their small but significant victories give as a message of hope in humankind and the power of non-violent struggle. Beautifully crafted, Water for Life is an important film than can be used in the classroom as well as in communities facing similar environmental threats from governments and/or corporations."
"Tragic and ultimately triumphant, Water for Life is at turns beautiful and intense. It counterposes lush panoramas with scenes of struggle. Its meditations on the ambiguity of the state and the power of the judicial system offer rich opportunities for discussion. While exploring the tensions between development and conservation, this film resists easy, simplistic stories for something refreshingly complex, moving, and ultimately hopeful."