EMBODYING WATER: A UofT x Water Docs Film Festival
In partnership with the University of Toronto’s Cinema Studies program, this event is a student-organized film festival which takes place on March 8th from 2:00pm-5:30pm at Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Avenue, Toronto, ON M5S 1J5)! It showcases short film selections on the topic of what else, WATER, presented by a UofT Cinema Studies seminar class called Sensory Ecologies: Theory and Praxis in Environmental Media Studies and taught by Professor Nadine Chan. In collaboration with Melanie Howe, the Lead Programmer of the Water Docs Film Festival, the class curated this year's festival under the theme of Embodying Water, a concept that connects to issues of climate justice and decolonizing how we relate to our surrounding watery environments.
The screening will feature the following five short films: Wetlands (Persia Beheshti, 2019), The Lost Seahorse (Benjamin Fieschi-Rose and Kirsten Brass, 2021), Biolumin (Moe Clark, Victoria Hunt, and James Brown, 2020), Water Silhouettes (Siluetas De Agua) (Violeta Paus, 2020), and One Day We Will Dance With You (Alkis Papastathopoulos and Kate Adams, 2020).
The screening will be followed by a Q&A discussion with filmmaker Benjamin Fieschi-Rose and student representatives from Climate Justice UofT. The students are very excited to be hosting this festival and look forward to seeing you there!
If you are able, please include a donation to Water Docs with your ticket and/or bring a non-perishable food item for our food drive. Please remember to bring your own, re-usable water bottle (there is a water station at the venue).
With gratitude, we’d like to thank our dedicated team of water and climate protectors for producing the in-person Water Docs Film Festival. That includes Regenerating Toronto, the University of Toronto’s School of the Environment, our filmmakers, guest speakers, community organizations, volunteers, and our engaged audience. It takes meaningful collaboration to share knowledge and inspire others to take positive action as we all strive to create a sustainable future for everyone. Join us again next year for the 12th Annual Water Docs Film Festival.
Learn more about the issues at hand and about developing strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change worldwide. It will make a difference to your outlook and willingness to be part of the change.
Make better consumer choices knowing that your purchasing power collectively influences manufacturing decisions.
Get involved. Share your knowledge. Make a difference.
Our #LaterNoMore campaign is a multifaceted initiative aimed at confronting the pressing challenges of climate change, with a particular emphasis on its effects on water and the natural environment. Through our four distinctive platforms, our project seeks to educate, inspire, and engage Canadians in climate solutions.
The four #LaterNoMore delivery platforms:
The Water Docs Film Festival, Lesson Plans for Students, Community Town Hall Meetings, Interactive Website & Social Media Campaign
Leveraging a decade of experience in producing the Water Docs Film Festival and collaborations with esteemed partners like Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF) and ReGenerating Toronto, our #LaterNoMore project and the Water Docs Film Festival underscore the intrinsic connection between humans and nature. Highlighting promising technical innovations and nature's carbon sinks like water bodies, forests, living soil, and wetlands, our vision is to transform concerned individuals into engaged, proactive members of their communities, instilling a sense of empowerment and inspiring individual and collective actions. Watch for future events throughout the year.
To support this initiative with a financial contribution, please visit www.waterdocs.ca/donate.
The #LaterNoMore project in 2023/24 is
Also made possible through community grants and the ongoing financial support of our individual donors.
Simultaneously, we continue to deliver additional learning opportunities through our Water Docs at School and Water Docs Where You Live programs. Dive a little deeper and read about who we are, what we do, and how we do it.
This extraordinary school program teaches thousands of kids about water and climate using a unique, hands-on approach, instilling a passion for water stewardship.
Take action and make waves for water and climate protection in your community by hosting your own online community film screening.
Water Docs at School: Winning films and projects!
On June 15 we hosted our annual Student Recognition Day for all the students who participated in the 2022-2023 Water Docs at School program. Alongside our program partner, Learning for a Sustainable Future, we awarded the Best Films and Best Projects to outstanding works from students from Ontario, Manitoba, and New Brunswick. We also screened the top two award-winning films. Take a look at the winning films…
Water & Climate Stories
“How a Documentary Changed My Life” by Julia Barnes
2023 Water Docs Communications & Marketing Assistant
Julia filming underwater for her documentary Sea of Life | Julia Barnes
“Are we in the right theatre?” I asked, as we walked up the aisle, surveying rows of empty seats. My mom and I were the only people in a room meant to accommodate 200.
We chose seats in the middle of the back row beneath the projection booth. Minutes ticked by as we joked about getting a private screening, until three more people trickled in.
The floors vibrated with the rumbling sound effects from an action movie playing in the next theatre over. It was a Friday night and most people chose to escape reality rather than face it.
Guest Blogs
The Water Docs Water Talk is a space where we publish just about anything water and climate related; news stories, fictional stories, creative writing pieces, interviews, personal stories, testimonials, listicles, opinion pieces, you name it! We are offering you a chance to be featured in Water Talk and publish your work on our blog!
If you feel passionate about a particular environmental issue, have a touching story about water or climate, or feel like just grabbing a pen and paper and seeing where your mind takes you, we'd love to work with you to get you published! And hey, we will even toss in a Water Docs branded t-shirt and water bottle as a thank you for sharing with us.
Please reach out to Ben, our Digital Content Manager, with your idea(s) if you are interested in writing something for Water Docs.
WATER DOCS’ MISSION
To evoke a spirit of reverence for water and a liveable climate.
To inform about threats that imperil water and a liveable climate.
To inspire citizen action to protect water and a liveable climate.
Appealing to a fundamental connection with nature, our vision and commitment is to motivate people through unique educational platforms to take action for the protection of water and a liveable climate.
Every time I enter the ocean, it shows me something beautiful and unexpected. I’m looking for sharks, and a fin whale surfaces, breath bursting into fine mist. Sea lion pups encourage me to play, spinning in the water, swimming fast then turning on a dime and blowing bubbles. Floating at the surface, a comb jelly mesmerises me with rainbow bands of bioluminescence.