Is water a commercial good like running shoes or Coca-Cola? Or is water a human right like air?

In her 2010 documentary Water On The Table, filmmaker Liz Marshall features Maude Barlow, whom she dubs an “international water-warrior” for her crusade to have water declared a human right.

“Water must be declared a public trust and a human right that belongs to the people, the ecosystem and the future, and preserved for all time and practice in law,” Barlow says. “Clean water must be delivered as a public service, not a profitable commodity.”

The film captures Barlow’s public face as well as the unscripted woman behind the scenes. More than a portrait of an activist, Water On The Table presents several dramatic opposing arguments from economic experts who argue that water is no different from any other resource.

The International Wednesdays documentary series will hold a free public screening of the film at noon Wednesday, November 7, in the International Student Centre on the second floor of Laurier Hall.

Watch a trailer here: