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Bullfrog Films
P.O. Box 149
Oley, PA 19547
Tel: 610/779-8226
Fax: 610/370-1978
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The Water Front
The story of Highland Park, Michigan, and the larger issues of water privatization and human rights.
53 minutes
DVD version with special features available - see below
Color / Stereo
Closed Captioned
Grade Level: 9-12, College, Adult
US Release Date: 2008
Copyright Date: 2007
ISBN (VHS): 1-59458-763-9
ISBN (DVD): 1-59458-764-7
Directed by Liz Miller
Produced by Red Lizard Media
Cinematographer: Liz Miller
Editors: Liz Miller, Susan Shanks, Frederic Moffet and Etienne Gagnon
Original Music: John Brennan
Theme Music: Joe L. Carter
Narration: Achebe Powell
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"Should be viewed by everyone concerned about the survival of our communities and the just and equitable distribution of water resources." Bunyan Bryant, Ph.D., Director of the Environmental Justice Initiative, University of Michigan
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What if you lived by the largest body of fresh water in the world but could no longer afford to use it?
With a shrinking population, the post-industrial city of Highland Park, Michigan is on the verge of financial collapse. The state of Michigan has appointed an Emergency Financial Manager who sees the water plant as key to economic recovery. She has raised water rates and has implemented severe measures to collect on bills. As a result, Highland Park residents have received water bills as high as $10,000, they have had their water turned off, their homes foreclosed, and are struggling to keep water, a basic human right, from becoming privatized.
The Water Front is the story of an American city in crisis but it is not just about water. The story touches on the very essence of our democratic system and is an unnerving indication of what is in store for residents around the world facing their own water struggles. The film raises questions such as: Who determines the future of shared public resources? What are alternatives to water privatization? How will we maintain our public water systems and who can we hold accountable?
DVD version: 4 extra short films including interviews with Maude Barlow, Vivenne Bennett, and an award-winning 7-minute version of the film. Language options are Spanish, French, and English captions for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Awards:
Best of the Festival, Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival
Katherine Knight Award, EarthVision Environmental Film Festival
Best Water & Wetlands Film (Ramsar/Medwet Award), Ecofilms Rodos International Film and Visual Arts Festival
Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival
Environmental Film Festival In The Nation's Capital
Planet In Focus International Environmental Film Festival
Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival
Rencontres Internationales Documentary Film Festival, Montreal
Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival
3R's (Restoration, Revolution, Resurrection) Festival
Anthropology Film Festival at UBC
Human Rights Film Festival, Paris
Salem Film Festival
Northhampton Film Festival
Princeton Environmental Film Festival
Reviews:
"This water issue is so profound I had no idea that we would be engaged in this horrific fight to have water acknowledged as a human right." Maureen Taylor, Michigan Welfare Rights
"Water is not only an issue affecting poor countries. Everywhere in the world, people are facing a diversity of difficulties in accessing water. And the characters Liz Miller chose to portray in her film are particularly strong, in their interesting way of facing up the situation, reacting, gathering, getting involved and fighting together. Covering all water issues, from pricing to privatization and--above all--the human right to water, this film sends a strong message on the way public participation and action can overcome problems." Melanie Giard, Communication Officer, World Water Council and Kostas Vassilakis, Official Secretary, Special Permanent Environment Protection Committee, Greek Parliament
"Miller's film does precisely what documentaries do best: it introduces us to a problem, sticks with it without losing focus and somehow makes us care deeply about the struggles of the people in front of the camera." Montreal Gazette
"When Highland Park's residents stand at their kitchen sinks, they confront deindustrialization, capital flight, suburbanization, neoliberalism, and profound inequality in the period of late capitalism. Rather than exploring these issues in the abstract, Liz Miller offers thoughtful, poignant portraits of the Black women and men on the ground. As the scenes move from their living rooms, through the city's water treatment plant, and to city council meetings, The Water Front illumines how public policies influence the lives of everyday people, and, importantly, how everyday people can organize to influence public policies. Miller's imagery calls into question Americans' habits and chores: viewers are compelled to reconsider quotidian acts like bathing, flushing, washing, and watering after watching the film. The Water Front will inspire conversations and debates about public services, human rights, and community organizing." Dr. Kelly Quinn, Assistant Professor of American Studies, Miami
University
"Undoubtedly water will be one of the key issues to be fought over in the 21st century -whether you live in Highland Park, Michigan or Soweto, South Africa. To date people in Highland Park struggle to pay their highly inflated water bills in order to stay in their homes and keep their families together. The Water Front is an amazing movie that chronicles the institutional abuses of citizens in a city where fresh water resources are abundant. The threat of privatization and the commoditization of water strike a devastating blow to the working class and those least able to eke out a living. This movie should be viewed by everyone concerned about the survival of our communities and the just and equitable distribution of water resources." Bunyan Bryant, Ph.D., Director of the Environmental Justice Initiative, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment
"Powerful and moving." Martha Saxton, Associate Professor of History and Women's & Gender Studies, Amherst College
"Brilliant and engaging." Professor Bruce Pietrykowski. Director of Urban & Regional Studies, University of Michigan-Dearborn
"The Water Front depicts the result when cities with single industries lose both jobs and tax base. With insufficient capital, but an intact infrastructure, Highland Park, Michigan attempts to revitalize its coffers by using city water as a marketable commodity. The film examines the controversy between city officials and residents, who perceive city services from opposite points of view, respectively, as a source of funds, and as a right. This film will generate much discussion on the nature of political participation, the interlinking roles of local and state government, and the function of publicly owned utilities." Kate Foss-Mollan, PhD, Dept of History, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Author, Hard Water: Politics and Water Supply in Milwaukee
"Films like this are a way of putting a mirror to our society." Elaine S. Charnov, Co-Director, Margaret Mead Video and Film Festival, in The New York Times
"The life of a documentary lies in the stories of the public. The Water Front project is a compelling case that reveals how true this is." Center for Social Media at American University
"Rather than a sense of hopelessness, The Water Front delivers the message that the people of a community can retain control of their fate if they join forces in resistance to outside interests that try to gain control of a resource as precious as water." Metro Times Detroit
Related Subjects:
African-American Studies
Anthropology
Class Structure
Democracy
Environment
Environmental History
Environmental Justice
Fresh Water
Geography
Government
Human Rights
Infrastructure
Natural Resources
Political Science
Racism
Sociology
Urban and Regional Planning
Water
Women's Studies
Related Links:
The Water Front website
Trailer
Related Titles:
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