Waterlife Director: Kevin McMahon, Canada, 2009, 109 minutes
Tuesday May 26 | 6:30PM | Pacific Cinémathèque
From the icy cliffs of Lake Superior to the ornate fountains of Chicago, from the rain-swept streets of Detroit to the sewers of Windsor and beyond, Waterlife follows the epic cascade of the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. The Great Lakes of North America supply twenty percent of the earth’s fresh water, with 35 million people drinking this water every day.
With stunning photography, underwater and above, Waterlife pays homage to this incredible and complex body of water and the life it contains. We observe as it transforms the societies it passes through and, in turn, is transformed by them.
Yet, beyond this extraordinary beauty, the Great Lakes are in an extreme state of distress. Under assault by a deadly combination of industrial toxins, sewage, invasive species, dropping water levels, and profound human apathy, the lakes verge on irreversible collapse.
Director Kevin McMahon takes viewers on a tour of an incredibly beautiful ecosystem that faces complex challenges, and gives viewers a visceral understanding of the element that is so integral to our lives. Along the way we meet a wide-ranging group of people who are connected to the Great Lakes. These people tell their stories of the region, sharing what is meaningful and necessary about this water from their perspectives. In the end, Waterlife has the power to transform how we see water and to inspire us to act before it’s too late.
Narrated by The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie, the film is propelled by a soaring soundtrack featuring music by Sam Roberts, Sufjan Stevens, Sigur Ros, Robbie Robertson, and Brian Eno. Filled with fascinating characters and stunning imagery, Waterlife is a cinematic epic about the beauty of water and the dangers of taking it for granted.
Director’s Biography
Kevin McMahon is a film director and writer. His recent film productions include Face of Victory, a documentary about the end of the Second World War told entirely in still photographs, and Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwaii that follows the cultural rejuvenation of the Haida people. Kevin is also the director of An Idea of Canada, a meditation on Canada’s coastline with the country’s former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson.
