The Fight for Water: A Farm Worker Struggle (2014) User Reviews

Eye Opening

[chris-4114 · 8/10 · 8 May 2014]

I wouldn't have known the devastation in my own backyard, where water is concerned, until I saw this film. A huge eye opener.

This powerful documentary takes you through the drought in California's former "Serengeti". What was once a beautiful habitat is now a dust bowl and is now affecting one of the most crucial vegetable and fruit producing locations in the world—Central Valley California.

You'll learn about the infamous Delta Smelt fish and how this endangered species is held responsible for keeping water from flowing to farmers to keep crops alive.

Appearances by comedian, Paul Rodriguez and former California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger are on hand leading the charge to opening the water up to bring back money, jobs and food to this part of California.

Thought Provoking Film, A Must Watch

[anamcorona · 9/10 · 8 May 2014]

The Fight for Water gives viewers a real life perspective of the many struggles farm workers face in the Central Valley. We take the food we bring to our tables for granted, but these people are the ones who make that possible. In this film we discover how easily a natural resource, which in fact is the most basic of all resources, can be taken away from an area and how this can impact so many lives. As consumers, we notice the difference at the register, but for these farm workers, the situation became so desperate that feeding their family became a day to day struggle.

In a time when important films such as Cesar Chavez, are in movie theaters, I believe it is important to also look past the actors and see the reality of this situation through the eyes of the people who actually live it day by day.

I highly recommend this film!

Film is more timely now!

[patrick-cavanaugh5 · 8/10 · 9 May 2014]

The Fight for Water Film is a serious documentary on how the Endangered Species Act has put fish before humans. It meant a serious and crippling cutback of water deliveries to farmers, which impacted communities on the West Side of the San Joaquin Valley in California.

In 2009, Film Director Juan Carlos Oseguera carried his camera on an historical 50-mile water march and into neighborhoods and food lines to speak to those impacted by the ESA ruling.

The film also focuses on two farmers Joe Del Bosque and George Delgado, who were once farm workers and later took the risk in becoming farmers and hiring dozens for farmworkers to help them. It tells the story on how the farmers started and how they grew their operations and were able to hire workers and pay them well. But then 2009 hit and the future of their farms became questionable.

The film is very timely as 2012 is worse than 2009, with many farmers receiving a zero allocation. This is due to a drought but also continue environmental restrictions that cause water to flow to the ocean instead of being exported to farms south of the Delta.

The film tells the story that no other media has done.

The interviews with farm workers in food lines is heartbreaking.

The opinions of mayors and other officials is illuminating.

And the frustration of Del Bosque and Delgado a reflection of hundreds of other farmers producing nutritious food for consumers, only to be fighting the biggest challenge of all--the Federal Government--is inconceivable.

A must see Documentary featuring the California drought

[maria-rodzoseguera · 8/10 · 8 May 2014]

The Fight for Water is a film intended for all audiences, which shows the drought in California with a focus on the Central Valley. The purpose of the film is to raise awareness of the California water situation and to draw attention to this issue that has been left ignored for quite some time and which is completely overlooked by people overall. I my self personally wasn't aware about many of the concerns that are raised in the documentary. I had no idea of the devastating impact the drought and the closure of water pumps had on the farmers and their workers, who sought themselves unemployed. Overall, this film projects very well the conditions lived by the farmers, as well as all the issues brought to light. I had the privilege of watching The Fight for Water last year at the Krikorian Premiere Theater, and I can say it is a definitely must see documentary.

Very enlightening...

[tneighbors1 · 10/10 · 10 May 2014]

This documentary does a great job of shedding light on an important issue that many people aren't aware of. If you live in California, you should make it a point to watch this. It has good pacing and kept my attention, even though this particular issue doesn't directly affect me. It's always important to see both sides of every argument. This is a great example of what can happen when we don't take a close look at the consequences of political action before casting our vote. In an effort to save salmon, Californians voted to cut off the flow of critical water to many of the farmers in the central valley, creating some pretty serious problems.

A must see Documentary!

[cschweininger · 10/10 · 13 May 2014]

We had the opportunity to watch the documentary "The Fight for Water" in 2012. This is a powerful documentary that sheds light to an ongoing situation that affects all of us.

It's an eye opener when you realize how many people were affected by the drought! And how politics can make major decisions without any idea of the impact that it had on our farmers that produce crops.

Throughout the film, I really appreciated Film Director Juan Carlos Oseguera interviewing two farmers Joe Del Bosque and George Delgado asking them questions about the decisions that were made that impacted and affected our natural resources.

It also sadden me, to see how one politician attitude and feelings were caught on tape, in regards to his thoughts on farm workers. However, I really appreciated that at the same time Juan interview these hard working individuals and asked them their thoughts about the interview. They were shocked! In the interview what really stood out was, how strong their work ethics were! They truly just wanted to work hard to provide a good life for their families.

After watching the documentary, we felt that this film was a must see and would be a good story to share with so many! We were honored to have Juan Carlos Osequera on our front cover for our inaugural issue.

This is still an ongoing issue! Films like this can make a difference and open our eyes to get more involved in making decisions that can impact our community.