Streaming water - best documentaries to watch this Autumn

Colorado River delta captured by Edward Burtynsky in Watermark documentary. Image: Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto / Howard Greenberg & Bryce Wolkowitz, New York

In these challenging times, documentaries matter more than ever.

We need films that turn a spotlight on issues, illuminate and inspire us and show us a way forward with hope and optimism.

That is why documentaries are so important. The best documentary filmmaking engages our hearts and minds with evocative and emotional storytelling. They reveal our world and help us to walk in another person’s shoes - building a sense of shared humanity.

This autumn the Make Water Famous team will be filling our screens with the best and brightest water documentaries on offer. From revolutionary technology solutions to the water crisis to awe-inspiring individuals who make protecting water their life’s work - there are so many wonderful stories out there that may just change the way you see water.

Here are just a few of our favourites:

1. Brave Blue World

The newest of our featured documentaries - Brave Blue World paints an optimistic picture of how humanity is adopting new technologies and innovations to rethink how water is managed.

The team behind the documentary say they are on a mission to change the discussion on water from 'doom and gloom' into a conversation which showcases how at the margins innovators and inventors are rethinking how we manage water.

The documentary features interviews with pioneers across five continents and features actors Matt Damon and Liam Neeson as well as water activist Jaden Smith.

Available on Netflix

2. Watermark

Watermark is a feature documentary from award-winning filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal and Nick de Pencier, and renowned photographer Edward Burtynsky.

The film brings together diverse stories from around the globe about our relationship with water: how we are drawn to it, what we learn from it, how we use it and the consequences of that use. In Watermark, the viewer is immersed in a magnificent force of nature that we all too often take for granted- until it’s gone.

The movie takes you on a journey from the massive floating abalone farms off China’s Fujian coast to the barren desert delta where the Colorado River no longer reaches the ocean due to climate change. It also chronicles how humans are drawn to water - whether that’s the sporting spectacle of the US Open Surfing championship in California, or the sacred festival of Kumbh Mela in the Indian city of Allahabad, where thirty million people gather for a sacred bath in the Ganges.

Available on Amazon Prime Video

3. Seaspiracy

Seaspiracy, made by the team behind the award-winning 2014 film Cowspiracy, which was backed by Leonardo DiCaprio, looks at whether there is such a thing as 'sustainable' fishing by shining a spotlight on the aquaculture industry.

This feature-length documentary about ocean conservation, commercial fishing and the impact humans have on the global marine environment was released on Netflix in March 2021 to critical acclaim and soon became the number one most-watched programme on Netflix in the UK and Ireland, and top ten in many other countries.

Directed by Ali Tabrizi, a film-maker from Kent, in the UK, the wide-ranging documentary questions the sustainable seafood movement and looks at the way the Dolphin Safe and Marine Stewardship Council labels may not be able to provide the assurances consumers are looking for.

Available on Netflix

4. There's Something in the Water

This 2019 Canadian documentary film was directed by acclaimed actor Elliot Page – who made the film with $350,000 of his own money

It is a searing examination of environmental racism which explores the disproportionate effect of environmental damage on Black Canadian and First Nations communities in Nova Scotia.

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 which were negatively impacted by water pollution such as Boat Harbour and Mi'kmaw tribal lands.

Available on Netflix

5. Last Call at the Oasis

This is a powerful documentary that shatters myths behind our most precious resource.

This film exposes defects in the current system, shows communities already struggling with its ill-effects and highlights individuals championing revolutionary solutions during the global water crisis. Firmly establishing the global water crisis as the central issue facing our world this century, the film provides hope that we can manage this problem - but only if we act now.

The documentary sheds light on the vital role water plays in our lives and introduces us to people who are championing revolutionary solutions, such as activist Erin Brockovich and distinguished experts Peter Gleick, Alex Prud’homme, Jay Famiglietti and Robert Glennon.

Available on Amazon Prime Video.