For immediate release
Chicago, IL - February 1, 2013
Water is a central element of life, and in the coming years the water scarcity that exists in some regions of the world will become a global crisis. To bring to light an understanding of how water issues affect us all, production company artistic circles has created a documentary that highlights the partnership between desert villagers in water-distressed Rajasthan, India and students and faculty at Northwestern University, which sits on the shores of Lake Michigan. Hosted by actor Adrian Grenier (Entourage), the new 60-minute documentary WATER PRESSURES encourages young people to get involved in water issues. The program will air on WTTW on Thursday, March 28 at 9:00 pm, with a rebroadcast on WTTW Prime on Friday, March 29 at 3:00 pm.
The inspiration for WATER PRESSURES came to producer Ann Feldman when she was trapped in a taxicab on the way to the Bangalore, India airport in the midst of the Cauvery River water riot in January 2007. The water crisis grabbed her attention, and Feldman soon went back to India to meet with a leading water center in the Thar Desert. Shortly thereafter, the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation and desert villagers agreed to collaborate with her on a documentary to bring awareness to the issue. She returned in 2008 to film in several villages, learning about water scarcity and traditional water solutions. Then in March, 2010, Feldman, Northwestern University students and a video crew flew to India to meet villagers and learn about water scarcity firsthand. From that trip came this revealing film, which illustrates that water truly is a tipping point.
WATER PRESSURES is a 2011 Accolade Competition winner, and is a 2011 Indie Fest Award winner for video for social change. The program is produced by artistic circles, presented by WTTW National Productions, and is also distributed nationally by American Public Television (APT).
About artistic circles
Founded in 1989, artistic circles creates groundbreaking collaborative media programs that promote social change. Post 9/11, artistic circles produced the Ties That Bind video documentary about women religious leaders connecting communities in Chicago across faith, race and nationality. Ties That Bind premiered at the Council for the World’s Parliament of Religions and UNESCO conference on Pathways to Peace in Barcelona, Spain and was syndicated to public TV stations nationally by NETA (National Educational Telecommunications Association) for the fifth anniversary of 9/11. The company also created a discussion guide to accompany screenings of the documentary at town hall meetings across the country from 2006 to the present. Other recent programs include the 1999 broadcast of Unbreakable Spirits, a 13-part public radio series broadcast through WBEZ and PRI.
About WTTW National Productions
WTTW National Productions is a premier producer and presenter of original, high-quality television programs for both public and commercial television broadcast. WTTW National Productions is a division of Window to the World Communications, Inc., the parent company of WTTW11 Chicago. For more than 50 years, WTTW11 and WTTW National Productions have introduced a wide array of ground-breaking television programming – reflecting the world’s rich and diverse arts and entertainment scene as well as education, politics, public affairs, business, and religion – to a national audience. Its landmark innovative series and original productions include the critically-acclaimed performance showcases Soundstage, Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis; Proclamation of Hope, and David Broza at Masada: The Sunrise Concert; cultural series, MEXICO—One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless, Grannies on Safari, Ebert Presents At the Movies and The Artist Toolbox; the business series CEO Exchange; the documentary series Retirement Revolution; the transmedia online educational children’s properties Mission to Planet 429 and UMIGO, and the award-winning animated children’s series WordWorld. For more information, please visit www.wttw.com/national.
