Interview with Director and Producer of FLOW: For Love of Water

FLOW: For Love of Water, a thorough and alarming documentary about the global water crisis from toxicity to privatization, premiered in the Documentary Competition section of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. FLOW was directed by Irena Salina whose previous work includes Ghost Bird: The Life and Art of Judith Deim. Gill Holland, producer of over 40 films and Spirit Award nominee for producer of the year, co-produced. Others involved include Yvette Tomlinson (co-producer, contributing producer for the Emmy-Award winning South Africa Now), Steven Starr (producer, founder of Revver.com) and Stephen Nemeth (executive producer, whose many producing credits include Dogtown and Z-Boys and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas).

I spoke with director Irena Salina and co-producer Gill Holland.

Harriette Yahr: Congrats on your Sundance premiere. How was that for you?

Irena Salina: Sundance gives an amazing platform for independent film. I had an amazing experience; it was the first time the film was shown so it’s great to get the reaction of the audience. Also, you are exposed to a range of distributors and journalists. I feel blessed that our film was there. Oh, and we got a distribution deal.

Gill Holland: We had one of the most intense Q&As I have ever witnessed with a former head of a Vivendi subsidiary applauding us—but not before terrifying the audience that he would lambaste us!—and ended up with a standing ovation at the 400 plus seat Library Center which was exhilarating.

HY: Irena, I want to talk a little about your process. You filmed in many countries—what hurdles did you face?

IS: I would say because of the lack of money you work on an intense schedule, not always giving you the time to stay long enough in one place. Sometime I had to go places alone, which can be challenging and overwhelming. But I was lucky enough that it always turned out well—with the very exception of a tick bite in South Africa that gave me high fever.

HY: Gill, can you jump in here and talk about funding. How did that all come together?

GH: Irena first approached me around 2002 to raise money while I was working out of my 5th floor walk-up, and I was like, ‘Have you seen what the economy just did? There’s no way I know anyone with cash for anything right now.’ So Steven Starr came on board first, and then when we finally organized an LLC two or three years later and became official and had some footage in the can, I raised a good chunk of the financing, all private equity sources.

HY: Irena, do you see yourself an activist or a filmmaker or both?

IS: I see myself as a filmmaker and a concerned citizen!