Water: Take 1 Media
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Water: Take 1 Media
WATER TAKES THE SPOTLIGHT IN ONLINE GLOBAL SHORT FILM CONTEST
By Maryann Ridini Spencer
November 2012
“Using every drop wisely and improving our water cycles is essential to the continued health of our planet,” said Shana Epstein, General Manager of Ventura Water. “In the United States, we don’t think twice about whether clean water will come out of the tap when we turn on the faucet - to get a glass of water, to do the dishes, to wash our face, or brush our teeth.”
To elevate the value of water, Ventura Water, partnered with Limoneira’s Limco Del Mar, Patagonia and IThentic for the inaugural Water: Take 1 Online Short Film Contest, to highlight our relationship with water and promote water awareness, efficiency and recycling programs.
“We chose to do an online film contest with a water focus,” continued Epstein, “because members of our community, as well as on a national and global level, must begin to recognize the importance of water and its infrastructure. With the contest, we hope to engage intelligent and creative conversation between leadership, businesses and the community.”
Filmmakers from across the globe were invited to submit short films less than five minutes in any genre (drama, documentary, comedy, animation, Sci-fi or experimental) that address the topic of water at the contest’s online site at watertake1.com from March 22 through September 4, 2012. The films submitted competed for three awards which were presented at a community celebration hosted by Brooks Institute in November.
It’s been well documented that in the United States alone that there are large areas of infrastructure over 100 years old and in need of replacement and repair. However, in many countries, such as parts of Africa and India, there is a lack of infrastructure period. This lack of infrastructure has a serious impact on the health and economy of those regions causing a negative ripple effect throughout the globe.
“The responsibility to preserve our environment, our water sources, and maintain our infrastructure systems lies with the people – the water consumers,” said Epstein. “We must work together now to create practical solutions that will safeguard the health of future generations.”
In Ventura, one of California’s oldest coastal cities, there are many areas where infrastructure is ending its useful lifespan and will need replacement over the next few decades. While projects and plans are underway to improve this invaluable infrastructure, it isn’t without cost. Generations ago, and up until the Reagan administration, infrastructure was virtually maintained by grants from the Federal government, without cities having to repay the grant funding. However, most of these types of grants are no longer available due to budget cuts. As a result, water customers across America now bear the full financial responsibility of infrastructure maintenance, replacement and improvement. Water rates during the pre-Reagan era were offset by infrastructure grants and did not reflect the true cost of providing water. This is one of the main reasons why water rates today seem to be rising so quickly.
Water: Take 1 Published Media Articles
VC Star Eye on the Environment: City of Ventura to again hold short film contest focused on water (March 16, 2013)
VC Star Newbury Park family wins popular vote in water video contest (January 3, 2013)
VC Reporter Raising awareness one drop at a time (August 23, 2012)
VC Star Eye on the Environment: Online film contest focuses on water (June 1, 2012)
VC Star Contest on tap for water topics (April 7, 2012)
VC Star Film contest involving water issues now open (April 6, 2012)
VC Star Ventura Water seeks filmmaker to highlight its work (April 1, 2012)
Indiewire Blog Sydney Levin New Contest from iThentic - Water: Take 1 Online Short Film Contest (March 27, 2012)
