Water for life

Water For Life follows Indigenous activists in Latin America as they face death threats and murder to save their precious water resources from mining and hydroelectric projects.

Water For Life 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.

This is a 2023 Documentary, 1h 29 min. Screening followed by community discussion.

Sponsored by: The Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice Latin America Caucus; and the University of Michigan, Latin America and Caribbean Studies (LACS)

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Water For Life

By Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice

Water For Life

Film Screening & Discussion