Film Examines Growing Community Concerns Over Corporate Ownership of Water Resources
(Sacramento, CA) State Senator Liz Figueroa (D-Fremont), chair of the Senate Select Committee on International Trade Policy and State Legislation invites the public to attend the first Sacramento screening of the water privatization documentary “Thirst.” The documentary illustrates the growing community resistance to corporate ownership of water resources. Producers Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman say “Thirst” is a timely film as California debates new water policies that would, for the first time, allow private water companies to bid on voter-approved water bond funds.
“This film vividly illustrates the human costs of commodifying a most basic and fundamental human need – access to water,” said Figueroa, chair of the Women’s Caucus and a long-time member of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. “‘Thirst’ tells a powerful story of resistance and survival, from women in India struggling to care for their families in the absence of fresh water and adequate sanitation, to the people of Stockton fighting to maintain control over their water resources.”
Over a billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water and each year millions of children die of diseases caused by unsafe water. The film’s central story takes place in Stockton, California where city officials proposed to sell the city’s water system to a consortium of global water corporations. Voicing their concerns over price hikes, water quality and potential layoffs, city residents formed a grassroots coalition demanding to be part of the debate.
WHAT: Sacramento Screening of the Water Privatization Documentary “Thirst”
WHEN: Tuesday, March 16, 2004
12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE State Capitol, Room 113, Sacramento, CA
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