Fox Searchlight Buys Water : The Hollywood Reporter, September 6, 2005

A week before the launch of the Toronto International Film Festival, Fox Searchlight Pictures has acquired the opening-night film, screenwriter-director Deepa Mehta's "Water" (HR 9/1).

" Water," set in 1938 colonial India during Mahatma Gandhi's rise to power, has been embroiled in controversy since its inception. The film was shut down in India in 2000 because of its negative portrayal of the country. The production faced violent protests and riots by fundamentalist Hindus, and Mehta's life was threatened.

"Water" was produced by David Hamilton.