FILM CLIPS / Also opening today

The Story of the Weeping Camel: "This is what film is meant to do: Expose us to incredible people, places and stories we would never know otherwise. Part documentary and part re- enacted truth. It might be apt to compare "Weeping Camel" to a film like "Himalaya," the 1999 work by Eric Valli that features real-life Tibetans playing the roles of Tibetans on a salt caravan. Like "Himalaya," "Weeping Camel" spotlights a part of the world that's usually given little consideration. And like "Himalaya," "Weeping Camel" essentially lets native people tell their own unforgettable story. "

'Thirst'

Bechtel and other multinationals are trying to take over management of water supplies around the world, turning a precious resource into a commodity akin to oil. Snitow and Kaufman introduce us to people in Bolivia, India and Stockton (San Joaquin County) who are fighting against corporate takeovers of water supplies. Their message: Activism works, but in the years ahead, the issue of water will only get more contentious, not less.

Olivera, activist against Bechtel subsidiary which was awarded a billion-dollar contract to operate the municipal water system in Cochabamba, Bolivia is interviewed at length in "Thirst," as is a successful water conservationist in India, Rajendra Singh, who is likened to Mahatma Gandhi. Snitow and Kaufman also profile the fight in Stockton over that city's plan (pushed by its mayor) to let a German multinational operate the water system.