NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 18, 2009) — The Documentary Channel^® (DOC) will unveil an enlightening quartet of international documentaries designed to bring awareness and attention to the worldwide water crisis during its Monday Night “Primetime Premieres” lineup in September.  DOC will present the U.S. television premiere of “The Water Project: Bahrain” on Monday, Sept. 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, followed on consecutive Mondays at the same time by “The Water Project: Colombia,” “The Water Project: India” and “The Water Project: South Africa” on Sept. 14, 21 and 28, respectively.  DOC is available on DISH Network (Channel 197), and several broadcast stations in major markets including NYC TV (Channel 25) throughout the greater New York metropolitan area.

“I think it’s important for Americans to be more aware of the current world water crisis,” says Kate Pearson, The Documentary Channel’s senior vice president of programming.  “Each of the four ‘Water Project’ films we’re showing in September take viewers to a different community they would otherwise never know about. Getting the audience involved and engaged in issues like this is one of our network’s primary goals.”

The Water Project’s four films were made possible by 1H2O, an organization formed by the Knight Center for International Media at the University of Miami and the Independent Television Service (ITVS) to create collaborative opportunities internationally for the creation of media aimed at generating worldwide awareness about the challenges facing the planet with regard to the provisioning of safe potable water. 1H2O (1H2O.org) is made possible by major funding from the Knight Foundation and enables journalists and filmmakers to tell stories about the challenges relating to water.

On Monday, Sept. 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, DOC premieres “The Water Project: Bahrain,” a documentary produced by Omar Salman Al Slaise which examines the shortage of natural water resources in the Kingdom of Bahrain caused by overdevelopment and dredging. By delving into the past, the prominent history of the Kingdom is presented as a land of two seas resulting in an abundance of natural water resources. Now called the land with no beach, the present day water shortage in Bahrain is strikingly apparent. The cost, obstacles and debates over how to solve this shortage are explored by interviewing water plant workers and everyday Bahrainis.

“The Water Project: Colombia” will premiere Monday, Sept. 14 (9 p.m. ET/PT) and aims to tell the story of water and its relationship with the communities in Colombia through four specific cultural and climactic scenarios: the moor, the river, the desert, and the rain forest. Producer Richardo Restrepo Hernandez chose the four areas of Chingaza and Bogota, from the central part of the country; the Magdalena River, which runs through the country from north to south; the desert Guajira, the country’s northernmost point; and the Western Pacific department of Narino. The view from these scenarios allows the audience to explore the ambivalent, and often times contradictory, relationship between humans and their most valued resource, water.

“The Water Project: India,” slated to premiere on DOC Monday, Sept. 21 (9 p.m. ET/PT), is a visual essay produced by Abhijit Dasgupta that focuses on Kolkata and adjoining areas showing the way water is used and misused, and how the very basic needs of the Indian people have long been ignored. In a conscious attempt to forego the traditional route of showing how badly the water resources are being managed, since these appeals have been exhausted, the India Water Project calls attention to the everyday struggles the people of India face, from women fetching water across dry riverbeds by walking 10 to 15 miles everyday just for a bucket of drinking water, to human beings and animals bathing in the same water together. The documentary brings to life the everyday challenges the people of India face by providing dramatic and eye-opening visuals with music by one of the most popular, pioneering rock groups in India, The Fossils.

The fourth film, “The Water Project: South Africa,” will be telecast Monday, Sept. 28 (9 p.m. ET/PT) and profiles the community of Tsilitwa in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.  Set on a highly fertile piece of land that has the potential of making a healthy contribution to the economy, scarcity of water makes it one of the poorest areas in South Africa.  Produced by Lichaba Nthethe, the film follows Nomavuso Libala, an elderly woman whose daily life is defined by the trips she takes to fetch water in order to do house chores, plant the garden and to take care of her grandchildren. The Tsilitwa community introduces the viewer to their three chief sources of water: groundwater– which is contaminated with algae and other bacteria, rainwater– which is a serious luxury and an electric water pump– which costs them money they do not have.

A summary of network’s exclusive Monday “Primetime Premieres” September schedule for “The Water Project” documentaries is as follows:
Monday, Sept. 7  “The Water Project: Bahrain” (P) 9 p.m. ET/PT

Monday, Sept. 14  “The Water Project: Colombia” (P) 9 p.m. ET/PT

Monday, Sept. 21  “The Water Project: India” (P) 9 p.m. ET/PT

Monday, Sept. 28  “The Water Project: South Africa” (P) 9 p.m. ET/PT

(P) – Denotes U.S. Television Premiere
About The Documentary Channel^®: The Documentary Channel (DOC) is the USA’s first 24-hour television network exclusively devoted to documentary films and the independent documentary filmmaker, providing viewers with round-the-clock opportunities to see fascinating, eclectic and award-winning documentary films of all lengths and genres. For more information on DOC, visit www.documentarychannel.com.