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Fox Searchlight has picked up US rights to Water, the final installment in Deepa Mehta's elemental trilogy that will open the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept 8. Set in 1930s India against the backdrop of Mahatma Gandhi's rise to power, Water charts the fallout on a temple community when a group of widows arrives. Lisa Ray, Seema Biswas, Bollywood superstar John Abraham and Sri Lankan child newcomer Sarala star. David Hamilton, who previously collaborated with Mehta on Fire, Earth, and Bollywood/Hollywood, produced the saga. Doug Mankoff of Echo Lake Productions and Mark Burton of Accomplice Films served as executive producers. David Hamilton Productions, Echo Lake Productions and Telefilm Canada co-financed the project. Celluloid Dreams is handling worldwide sales. Water will be released in Canada through Mongrel Media on Nov 4. The US release date will be announced in due course. Interweaving Mehta's typically provocative commentary on India's political, social and romantic evolution, Water has been a controversial undertaking. Production was shut down in India in 2000 after fundamentalist Hindus rioted in protest over the subject matter and the award-winning filmmaker received death threats. The shoot was eventually revived in Sri Lanka under an assumed name and strict secrecy. " To make Water was akin to climbing Everest a hard journey. But where to go from there?" Mehta said. "Having Fox Searchlight distribute the film in the US is like finding a stairway to Heaven. I couldn't be more pleased." Fox Searchlight executive vice president Joseph De Marco and senior vice president of acquisitions Tony Safford negotiated the deal with John Sloss of Cinetic Media and Hengameh Panahi of Celluloid Dreams. |
