SDH Captioned
Grades 10-12, College, Adults
Directed by Isabel Alcántara Atalaya, Alfredo Alcántara
Produced by Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster, Lindsay Perna
US Release Date: 2026
Copyright Date: 2024
DVD ISBN: 978-1-961192-60-7
Subjects
Activism
Agriculture
Anthropology
Capitalism
Developing World
Environment
Environmental Justice
Extractivism
Geography
Global Issues
Health
Human Rights
Hydrogeology
Latin American Studies
Mexico
Natural Resources
Political Science
Pollution
Radioactivity
Social Justice
Sociology
Water
Women's Studies
Awards and Festivals
Nationwide Broadcast on PBS's "POV"
Best Documentary, Dokumentale in Berlin
Best Documentary, Guanajuato International Film Festival
DOC NYC
Morelia International Film Festival
Mountainfilm in Telluride
Philadelphia Latino Film Festival
Boston Latino Film Festival
When three children die of leukemia in a rural Mexican community, two mothers partner with a scientist to investigate their water supply.
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"A stunning, unassuming documentary about one of the most urgent, and most invisible forms of extractivism." Ilka Kressner, Assoc. Prof. of Hispanic Studies, SUNY-Albany |
[Note: Community screenings of THE AGE OF WATER can be booked at Bullfrog Communities.]
In Mexico's heartland, a community is mourning the deaths of three girls from leukemia, all in the span of a year. Elia, the local kindergarten teacher, and Nely, a mother who nearly lost her newborn, form a group of women seeking an investigation. They're met with resistance from government officials denying an underlying cause.
Dr. Adrián Ortega, a hydrogeologist from the National University of Mexico supports their cause. After rigorous testing, they find that the water contains radioactive material exceeding safety standards by 300%. Their journey leads to a greater revelation: industrial farms have drained the region's aquifers, leaving behind a poisonous source of drinking water.
Reviews
"Courageous...It might even renew your hope in the power of ordinary people organizing for their rights...This is a stand-up-and-cheer film, which illustrates how science and dogged resistance together can defeat the powerful. That's an inspiring message always - but especially in these times."
Ed Rampell, Earth Island Journal
"A compelling portrait of environmental injustice - and the courage it takes to confront it."
Caroline Ryan, Culture Elixir
"The Age of Water reveals the devastating costs of the global water crisis for communities. Years of groundwater overuse and political failure have led La Cantera - like countless other communities - into a severe and ongoing crisis. Above all, it demonstrates that there can be no environmental sustainability without justice and women's community leadership."
Isabella Alcañiz, Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland, Author, The Distributive Politics of Environmental Protection in Latin America and the Caribbean
"The Age of Water is an urgent and lyrical investigation into how what we do to the earth is what we do to ourselves, no matter how hard business interests try to convince us otherwise. Impressive, hard-hitting, and moving, this is a must-watch for anyone interested in environmental activism, Latin America, and hydropolitics."
Elizabeth Roberts, Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan
"Beautifully shot...The Age of Water is highly recommended for both courses on global environmental justice and community screenings, connecting everyday struggles to secure clean drinking water to broader patterns of water over-extraction and pollution resulting from agricultural exports."
Maria Akchurin, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Loyola University Chicago
"The Age of Water provides a nuanced view of the tragic consequences of groundwater overexploitation. It shows how depleting aquifers to support the production of crops like broccoli, strawberries, and asparagus for export can cause water-supply wells to develop dangerously high concentrations of elements like arsenic, fluoride, and radon. When community activists drew attention to the problem but couldn't provide easy solutions, they faced criticism and ostracism from their neighbors. I look forward to using this film next time I teach my Water Resources class."
K.L. Knee, Associate Professor of Environmental Science, American University
"Reveals the price of water...Searing."
Eleanor J. Bador, The Indypendent
"This beautifully crafted but painful documentary film denounces unrestrained pumping of fossil groundwater by agribusiness and offers a road map on how to resist corporative and political corruption in the face of life-threatening water poisoning."
Ignacio López-Calvo, Professor of Latin American Literature and Culture, University of California-Merced, Co-editor, Hydrohumanities: Water Discourse and Environmental Futures
"A brilliantly pieced-together documentary...What begins with the heartbreaking deaths of three schoolgirls unfolds into a larger story about environmental neglect, political denial, and the fight for survival."
Alan Ng, Film Threat
"This film is particularly effective because it focuses on preventable deaths of children. It asks how Guanajuato, Mexico can ensure safe water for residents while maintaining its economic importance as an agricultural hub. The grassroots organizing by the film's protagonists acts as a blueprint for all humans who are increasingly confronting similar issues with healthy water deterioration."
James Mestaz, Assistant Professor of Latin American History, Sonoma State University, Author, Strength from the Waters: A History of Indigenous Mobilization in Northwest Mexico
"Chronicle[s] the long, determined, and inspiring struggle of these Mexican women as they confront the patriarchal bureaucracy in their quest for answers."
Latin Heat
"Exposes an urgent and largely overlooked issue...Is both heartbreaking and inspiring."
Juanita Crespo Arrona, Periódico AM
"The Age of Water offers a poignant portrayal of Mexican women, most of them mothers, fighting for environmental justice for their children and community. It depicts issues of water contamination and depletion, an age-old story in the Capitalocene. Despite facing significant risks, these courageous women are standing up against large-scale agricultural interests supported by the State, to advocate for their environmental rights. This moving film highlights those who dare speak up for a just, livable future, in this era of ecological crisis."
Hilda Lloréns, Professor of Gender and Women's Studies, Anthropology, and Marine Affairs, University of Rhode Island, Author, Making Livable Worlds: Afro-Puerto Rican Women Building Environmental Justice
"A powerful and important film. The Age of Water illuminates the urgency behind community-led and public scientific investigations into the human and ecological impacts of export agriculture. It provokes us to reflect on the future of food and water in the Plantationocene."
Nicholas Copeland, Associate Professor of History, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
"This is a stunning, unassuming documentary about one of the most urgent, and most invisible forms of extractivism: excessive groundwater depletion. The film subtly interweaves intimate accounts of mothers, schoolteachers, children, scientists and activists, that share what it means to live in times when the most fundamental life-sustaining element is radioactive. The Age of Water is of excellent educational value, both for the college-level classroom and for community film screenings."
Ilka Kressner, Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies, Chair of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, University at Albany-SUNY