''There's Something in the Water'' is a 2019 Canadian documentary film, directed by
Elliot Page
Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987) is a Canadian actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Elliot Page, various accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Actress, Academy Award nomination, tw ...
and
Ian Daniel
Gerald Ian Daniel (born August 17, 1981) is a Sri Lankan cricketer who plays first class cricket for Sinhalese Sports Club. A right-handed opening batsman, Daniel has appeared consistently for Sri Lanka at junior level starting from his inclusion ...
.
["Nova Scotian stories of Environmental racism hit the big screen at TIFF in Ellen Page documentary"]
''Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'', July 31, 2019. An examination of
environmental racism, the film explores the disproportionate effect of environmental damage on
Black Canadian
Black Canadians (also known as Caribbean-Canadians or Afro-Canadians) are people of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin, though t ...
and
First Nations communities in
Nova Scotia.
[ The film takes its name from Ingrid Waldron's book on environmental racism, ''There's Something in the Water''.]
Synopsis
The film begins by depicting conditions in the black community outside of Shelburne, Nova Scotia, where a correlation between contaminated well water and elevated rates of cancer went unaddressed. The film also explores Indigenous communities in Nova Scotia such as Pictou Landing First Nation which was affected by water pollution in Boat Harbour and Sipekneꞌkatik First Nation and his fighting against a gas company's plan to release salt brine into the Shubenacadie River.
Production
The film was co-directed and produced by Elliot Page and Ian Daniel, who had previously worked together on the documentary series '' Gaycation''. Starting in April 2019, it was shot on location in Nova Scotia and includes interviews with various environmental activists from marginalized communities, along with archival news footage. Page made the film with $350,000 of his own money.
Release
The film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival
The 44th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 5 to 15 September 2019. The opening gala was the documentary film '' Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band'', directed by Daniel Roher, and the festival closed with a ...
[Barry Hertz]
"TIFF 2019: Toronto festival’s Canadian lineup a mix of familiar faces, exciting rookies and a starring role for David Cronenberg"
''The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', July 31, 2019. and was released on Netflix on March 27, 2020.
Reception
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, of critic reviews are positive, and the average rating is . According to Metacritic, which sampled six critics and calculated a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, the film received "generally favorable reviews".
References
External links
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*{{Metacritic film
2019 films
Canadian documentary films
Documentary films about racism in Canada
Documentary films about environmental issues
2019 documentary films
2010s English-language films
2010s Canadian films