SJC and Plaza Cinema & Media Arts Center to Host The Water Film Festival

October 31, 2014

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – October 31, 2014 – St. Joseph’s College (SJC), in conjunction with Plaza Cinema & Media Arts Center (MAC), will host The Water Film Festival from November 3–19 at the Plaza MAC located at 20 Terry Street in Patchogue, New York. The Water Film Festival will feature several documentaries and films focusing on the significance of water on planet Earth.

The film schedule is as follows:

  • Monday, November 3 – Tapped, with commentary and discussion by S. Suzanne Franck, C.S.J., Ph.D., assistant academic dean and sustainability chair at SJC. Tapped exposes and examines the big business of bottled water. 
  • Wednesday, November 5 – Even the Rain, with commentary and discussion by Antoinette Hertel, Ph.D., chairperson of the Department of Modern Languages at SJC. In Even the Rain, a Spanish film crew becomes involved in a Bolivian community’s deprivation of water at the hands of multi-national corporations.
  • Monday, November 10 – Flow for Love of Water, with commentary and discussion by Kirk Lawrence, Ph.D., assistant professor at SJC. Flow for Love of Water gives viewers a look at the people, technology and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis.
  • Wednesday, November 12 – Blue Gold, with commentary and discussion by Patrick Tracy, director of campus ministry on the Long Island Campus of SJC. Blue Gold follows numerous worldwide examples of people fighting for their basic right to access water.
  • Monday, November 17 – Touched by Water, with commentary and discussion by Thomas Petriano, Ph.D., chairperson of the Department of Religious Studies at SJC. Touched by Water explores the hidden meaning behind the simple and universal act of bathing. 

In addition, a Global Water Film Festival winner screening will take place on Wednesday, November 19. SJC and Plaza MAC received short film submissions that highlight the importance of water on a global level. There will be first, second and third place winners in both the Novice and Experienced categories. First place winners will receive membership to Plaza MAC and the second and third place winners will receive Plaza MAC gift certificates.

“Access to clean water changes everything, and cheap viable solutions are within the developed world's grasp,” said Linda Lubranski, global studies coordinator on the Long Island Campus of SJC. “The SJC Office of Global Studies welcomes community members to learn about the challenges of attaining clean water, to learn about the privatization of water in the United States and to serve as part of the solution.”                      

All films begin at 7:45 p.m. Tickets are $5 for the general public and free for global studies students with a valid ID. For more information, visit www.plazamac.org.

ABOUT PLAZA CINEMA & MEDIA ARTS CENTER
The Plaza Cinema and Media Arts Center is a non-profit public charity organization dedicated to bringing the magic and power of movies and filmmaking to the hearts and minds of the community. On a weekly basis, the Plaza provides the Patchogue community with current, quality independent films from around the world while offering special films for children and cultural programming such as broadcasts of operas and ballet from the world stage. Since 2013, the Plaza has offered classes in screenwriting, editing and film production.

ABOUT ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE
St. Joseph’s College has been dedicated to providing a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. Independent and coeducational, the College provides a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual and spiritual values, social responsibility, and service. With campuses located in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn and in Patchogue, Long Island, the College offers degrees in more than 29 majors, special course offerings and certificates, affiliated and pre-professional programs.