Documentary backdrop image for Words on Water (2002)

Documentary backdrop image for Words on Water (2002)

200285 minPG-13documentary

Words on Water

200285 minPG-13documentary

For over 15 years, residents of a valley have fought against the construction of massive dams on their river, revealing issues in India's development politics.

Genres

Director

Synopsis

For over 15 years, residents of a valley have fought against the construction of massive dams on their river, revealing issues in India's development politics.

People

Sanjay Kakdirector

Synopsis

In a valley in India, residents have fought against massive dam projects for over 15 years. Their protests have united diverse groups and revealed issues in the country's development politics. Director Sanjay Kak documents this struggle, showing how local voices challenge government decisions. The film runs for 85 minutes and was released in 2002.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Fighting for the Right to Water in South Africa (2020)

Fighting for the Right to Water in South Africa

Local inhabitants in South Africa confront multinational water companies over privatization, often resorting to unsafe canal water amid their struggle for access.

Fighting for the Right to Water in South Africa

DamNation: The Problem with Hydropower (2020)

DamNation: The Problem with Hydropower

There are 75,000 dams over three feet high in the United States, raising concerns about their ecological impact and the future of free-flowing rivers.

DamNation: The Problem with Hydropower

Troubled Waters - South Africa (2008)

Troubled Waters - South Africa

Local inhabitants in South Africa face significant challenges as they resist the privatization of their water supply by the British company Biwater.

Troubled Waters - South Africa

Tribal Waters (2022)

Tribal Waters

A 37-year lawsuit finally determines the ownership of water rights in and around the Wind River Indian Reservation, a vital resource for the tribes.

Water Is Life : From Standing Rock to the Swamp | Indigenous Advocacy Documentary (2025)

Water Is Life : From Standing Rock to the Swamp | Indigenous Advocacy Documentary

In Louisiana, Indigenous women like Cherri Foytlin and Sharon Lavigne mobilize against fossil fuel companies to protect their land and way of life.

Water Is Life : From Standing Rock to the Swamp | Indigenous Advocacy Documentary

People of the Sea: Survival in a World of Water (2025)

People of the Sea: Survival in a World of Water

People in Indonesia and India adapt their lifestyles for survival in a world of water.

People of the Sea: Survival in a World of Water

Kampf ums Wasser (2016)

Kampf ums Wasser

Wasserversorgung als öffentliches Gut steht im Konflikt mit kommerziellen Interessen, während Bürgerrechtler wie Maude Barlow die Gefahren der Privatisierung betonen.

Kampf ums Wasser

1973: The Story of Manchester's Water (2025)

1973: The Story of Manchester's Water

Manchester's water supply faces a critical challenge as reservoirs dwindle, prompting a look at the city's historical and contemporary relationship with this vital resource.

1973: The Story of Manchester's Water

The fight for water in Bangalore: Is India's Silicon Valley drying up? (2025)

The fight for water in Bangalore: Is India's Silicon Valley drying up?

Bangalore faces a water shortage of around 500 million liters per day, impacting its 14 million residents and threatening the city's future.

The fight for water in Bangalore: Is India's Silicon Valley drying up?

Damming the Mekong River (2016)

Damming the Mekong River

Plans for 55 dams along the Mekong River threaten to alter the lives of over 60 million people who depend on its waters for transport and food.

Damming the Mekong River

Explore Words on Water

Browse more like this

People of the Sea: Survival in a World of Water (2025)

People of the Sea: Survival in a World of Water

People in Indonesia and India adapt their lifestyles for survival in a world of water.

People of the Sea: Survival in a World of Water

No digital watch option in your country

The fight for water in Bangalore: Is India's Silicon Valley drying up? (2025)

The fight for water in Bangalore: Is India's Silicon Valley drying up?

Bangalore faces a water shortage of around 500 million liters per day, impacting its 14 million residents and threatening the city's future.

The fight for water in Bangalore: Is India's Silicon Valley drying up?

No digital watch option in your country

A Narmada Diary (1995)

A Narmada Diary

1995•58m•★9.0TMDB

Non-violent protests against the Sardar Sarovar Dam have made the Narmada Bachao Andolan a significant movement in India.

A Narmada Diary

Water & Power: A California Heist (2017)

Water & Power: A California Heist

2017•1h27m•★7.2TMDB

California communities are deprived of access to safe drinking water as political and financial mechanisms shift public water supplies to private corporations.

Water & Power: A California Heist

River's End: California's Latest Water War (2021)

River's End: California's Latest Water War

2021•1h21m•★7.5TMDB

California's water crisis has intensified as affluent agricultural and urban sectors manipulate resources, leaving vulnerable communities facing severe scarcity.

River's End: California's Latest Water War

DamNation (2014)

DamNation

2014•1h27m•★6.7TMDB

Changing attitudes towards dams in the United States are highlighted through the restoration of the Elwha River and various dam removal efforts nationwide.

De l'eau jaillit le feu (2023)

De l'eau jaillit le feu

2023•1h15m•★8.0TMDB

Thousands of residents in the marais poitevin region of France unite against a controversial super reservoir project threatening their environment.

De l'eau jaillit le feu

Drowned Out (2002)

Drowned Out

2002•1h15m•★8.0TMDB

About 120 villagers in Jalsindhi face a stark choice: relocate to distant slums, accept inadequate compensation, or remain and drown as the Narmada dam fills.

Watershed: Exploring a New Water Ethic for the New West (2012)

Watershed: Exploring a New Water Ethic for the New West

2012•56m•★6.0TMDB

70% of the Colorado River's water is allocated to agriculture, often leaving it dry before reaching the Gulf of California.

Watershed: Exploring a New Water Ethic for the New West

Parched (2017)

Parched

2017•47m•★4.2TMDB

The series investigates water conflicts in locations such as West Virginia, Michigan, Syria, and India, focusing on the corporate and political interests involved.

Narmada: A Valley Rises (1994)

Narmada: A Valley Rises

1994•1h27m•★10.0TMDB

A 200 kilometer non-violent march involved 6,000 participants advocating for human rights and social justice in a democratic context.

Narmada: A Valley Rises

Waterschool (2018)

Waterschool

2018•1h10m•★8.0TMDB

Six young girls learn about water conservation and pollution issues while representing the Amazon, Nile, Mississippi, Danube, Ganges, and Yangtze rivers.

Browse more by Sanjay Kak

View all films →

In the Forest Hangs a Bridge (1999)

In the Forest Hangs a Bridge

1999

How We Celebrate Freedom (2007)

How We Celebrate Freedom

2007

Red Ant Dream (2013)

Red Ant Dream

2013

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →