WATER CELEBRATES TRIUMPH WITH PREMIERE AT OPENING OF TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL

Toronto, Canada—Water, executive-produced by Mark Burton, recently celebrated a long-awaited triumph at its premiere on the opening night of the Toronto Film Festival, earning warm praise from the audience and enthusiastic reviews from the press.

Water began filming in India in 2000, but fundamentalist Hindus, angry over what they felt was a negative portrayal of the country, rioted, destroying the sets and threatening the life of director Deepa Mehta. Mehta was eventually forced to shut down the production. Filming was eventually restarted and completed five years later in secrecy in neighboring Sri Lanka. “[Making] Water was akin to climbing Mount Everest—a hard journey,” said Mehta. The film is the third part of the acclaimed director’s Elemental series, following Fire and Earth.

Set in 1938 India, the film tells the poignant story of Chuyia, an 8-year-old girl who is forced to live a life of penitence, solitude and poverty in a “widow’s house” after the elderly husband she wed in an arranged marriage dies. As she grows up, Chuyia and the other widows at the house search for love and a better life, even as Mahatma Ghandi rises to lead his country to independence from British colonial rule.

Variety called Water “a profoundly moving drama…deeply satisfying,” and added that Mehta had imbued the film with “a deep passion and calm confidence in the power inherent in this startling story.” The Economist called Water “…the finest Indian film for a generation.” Since its premiere, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television has nominated Water for a 2007 Genie Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

Mark Burton, President of Production at IndieVest Pictures, served as executive producer of the film, with financing by David Hamilton Productions, Echo Lake Productions and Telefilm Canada. The film will be distributed in the U.S. by Fox Searchlight Pictures.

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