The next International “Water and Film” Events will be held from 18 to 21 March 2009 in Istanbul, during the 5th World Water Forum, with the overall theme of “Water, People and Sustainable Development”. Around one hundred films and clips selected over a two-year period will be screened. Participants in the 5th World Water Forum will be able to attend the screenings and debates held with the directors in the Citizen’s House for Water and its “Fountains of Knowledge” area. The Citizen’s House for Water and this presentation area will be located at the site of Water Forum itself. The general public will be invited to attend screenings at various locations around Istanbul so they can learn more about water-related issues around the world. Certain pre-selected films and clips will be submitted to the Istanbul International Film Festival, to be held in April 2009.

Film festivals around the world are waking up to water

Some of the works presented in Istanbul in March 2009 will be selected in collaboration with several film festivals and competitions around the world. This selection will also include works registered directly in the International “Water and Film” Events and chosen by a selection committee based in Montreal.

Non-competition

Categories at Istanbul in March 2009

-Films over 60 minutes long (documentaries, animations, fictions)

-Video-Art Competition Categories at Istanbul in March 2009

-Clips less than 90 seconds long made by young people aged from 17 to 30

-Films less than 60 minutes long (documentaries, animations, fictions)

-Films of a scientific and pedagogical nature

The Prizes

For the «Less than 90 seconds» Competition Categorie, the prizes will be as follows:

The Gold Droplet 3 000 $ US

The Silver Droplet 2 000 $ US

The Bronze Droplet 1 000 $ US

For the other two Competition Categories, the prizes will be as follows:

The Gold Droplet 5 000 $ US

The Silver Droplet 3 000 $ US

The Bronze Droplet 1 500 $ US

Three special prizes will also be awarded:

The “Climate Change” Prize 2 000 $ US

The “WASH Water supply, sanitation and hygiene” Prize 2 000 $ US

The “Testimony” Prize 2 000 $ US

International Jury

In Istanbul, an international jury of experts in water and cinema will designate the winners in each competition category. The results will be announced during an official ceremony as part of the 5th World Water Forum.

Entering the competition To be eligible, films must have been produced after 1 January 2005. Entries will be accepted until 1 September 2008.

To enter a film, directors must send a copy of their work on DVD (in multizone or Region 0 format), along with the entry form available on the International “Water and Film” Events website, as well as a high-resolution JPEG image taken from their film, to:

International Secretariat for Water

7, de la Commune Street W.

Suite 203

Montreal, Quebec

H2Y 2C5 Canada

Films produced in a language other than English must be sub-titled in English or, if necessary, accompanied by a print-out of the dialogues in English, French or Spanish.

For further information, please contact:

Bárbara Ávila

Phone : +33 (0)6 50 09 19 65

Fax : +1 514 849 2822

International “Water and Film” Events
Web Site:

www.riec-iwfe.org