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As Idle No More and Chief Theresa Spence’s hunger strike draw international attention, one of the central issues at stake in the struggle to protect the environment is the war over water. The global consequences of water rights are given deep and expansive coverage in Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee and Gayatri Roshan’s remarkable new film Elemental. DOXA Documentary Film Festival’s Motion Pictures Film Series and Capilano University are proud to present the Vancouver premiere of this critically important film at an equally critical moment in time.

Even as the Conservative Government’s latest omnibus bill removes some 2.5 million Canadian lakes and rivers that were formerly protected, battles to protect water are being waged around the globe. In India, activist Rajendra Singh fights to reclaim the Ganges River from pollution and mismanagement, as an ever-expanding population, factories and dams threaten the very existence of this fabled waterway. In Northern Alberta, First Nations activist Eriel Deranger wages a ferocious campaign against the proposed 2,000-mile Keystone XL Pipeline and the potential threat it poses to aquifers across the province. In Australia, inventor Jay Harman searches for a methodology to combat the effects of global warming uses nature’s own systems.

The one thing that unites each of these very different individuals is a deep and profound relationship with water. Even as they fight off the predations of government and corporate malfeasance, they must balance the demands of family, activism and employment with the work of saving the planet.

“Three environmental activists around the globe are profiled in Elemental and their efforts are duly inspiring and the related issues imposing... an interesting view of eco-warriors at work...” – Variety

“An important moving window on the efforts of three deeply committed individuals trying to save a river, a people and Earth.” – Austin-American Statesman

“Elemental is a rare, fresh look at environmental issues and sustainability that does not shy away from the personal impact the decisions to dedicate one’s life to a cause entails...– The Film Stage