Coral Gables, FL. (March 10, 2008) – “One Water”, a celebration of our planet’s relationship to water produced by the University of Miami, had its world premiere at the Miami International Film Festival on March 9, 2008 in Miami Beach. Filmed in 14 countries, “One Water” explores the global fresh water crisis and how this invaluable resource touches on every aspect of human life and culture.

“[ONE WATER] is an eloquent cry of despair about the perils facing our most precious resource that is powerful enough to inspire audiences to action without boring them for a single frame.” - Rene Rodriguez, movie critic, The Miami Herald

“One Water” is an immersive experience that shows the state of the world’s fresh water and its affect on people, which is becoming more aggravated by population growth and climate change and compromises the future of all life on the planet. This spectacular film also raises the essential question about clean, safe water being a basic human right.

“A great university embraces great challenges,” said UM President Donna E. Shalala, who narrated the film. “With the production of One Water, the University of Miami has made human what is our world’s greatest challenge – the fundamental right to fresh, safe water.”

The “One Water” film project was a six-year-long collaborative project involving the University of Miami School of Communication, College of Engineering and Frost School of Music.  Donna Shalala, Professor of Political Science and President of the University of Miami, narrates. Writer-producer-director Sanjeev Chatterjee is Vice Dean of the School of Communication and Executive Director of the Knight Center for International Media; editor-director Ali Habashi is UM director of the Arnold Center for Confluent Media Studies; UM School of Communication Professor Ed Talavera was director of photography; and Thomas M. Sleeper of UM Frost School of Music composed and conducted the orchestra that recorded the music for the film.

One Water’s completion and distribution is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

“One Water” includes candid interviews with many international notables like the H.H. Tenzin Gyatso, the XIV Dalai Lama and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the film shows how people from India to Ecuador, Hungary to Kenya, and China to the United States are struggling to obtain water for their most basic needs, while the more fortunate thoughtlessly squander this precious resource and might even fight over control of water resources.

“The purpose of the film is to open a window for audiences into the real situations that human beings are faced with in regards to water. This film should motivate individual responsibility and perhaps action,” said Sanjeev Chatterjee, Vice Dean of the School of Communication, who is writer, producer and director of the film.

For more information, to download images and the electronic press kit, visit:
http://onewaterthemovie.org

To read the Miami Herald review, visit:
http://www.miamiherald.com/tropical_life/story/447497.html

To set up interviews with film creators, please contact:
Melissa Rubi Falcón at mrubi@miami.edu, 305.284.6748