YouthNoise got the opportunity and privledge to work with an outstanding group of people in coordinating an event last week that YouthNoise was a co-partner with. I traveled to New York before the Baltimore summit on Thursday, Feb. 19th to help host "The Water Front" screening, panel and party which took place at the Brecht Forum, an amazing space for social activism. 

We partnered with some amazing organizations- Food and Water Watch, Media that Matters, and of course, Liz Miller and her film "the Water Front" which I highly recommend viewing.The best part that happened was probably the high attendance (the place was packed with 80 people) and the amount of interest of people wanting to take on new actions, etc. Four participants took home a dvd to show and screen on their campuses and in their communities, and others discussed how they wanted to create dialouge around water in the United States. Very successful!

Here are some photos from the event:

Set UP:

Leah Sapian, Media that Matters and Panelist.

Liz Miller, Director of "The Water Front" 

Packed house at the Brecht Forum:

Liz Miller, answering questions about the film:

Lauren (YN), Tennillee (E.P.I.C. and DROP participant), Valerie (YN DROP Intern), James (YN Staff)

Leah, Media that Matters, Rachael from Food and Water Watch New York City, Lauren

Liz and Dustin, long time friend from film school!

Overall, this event couldn't have been possible without Food and Water Watch and all the amazing people that helped create it. I was truly inspired by Rachael, Leah and Liz as well as the folks that showed up on a Thursday night to discuss these vitally important issues to our communities, country and world. 

Want a new way to get invovled, get excited and exhibit some serious skills to change the way we think of water? Then check out this new opportunity bubbling up for a filmmaker in Canada.  It's called "The Water Front Remix Challenge" and it's asking talented artists to take on the challenge of remixing Detroit's legendary bluesman, Joe L Lewis's song "Please Mr. Waterman"

Its the new world water; and every drop counts
You can laugh and take it as a joke if you wanna
But it dont rain for four weeks some summers
And its about to get real wild in the half
You be buying evian just to take a fuckin bath

How did this idea come to pass? It happened through the extrodinary documentary - The Water Front - which highlights the issues of water control, privatization, race, class and asks the questions- what do we do about it? The setting is Highlander Park, MI, a post-industrial city which is on the verge of financial collapse. Citizens of the area suddenly see a huge spike in their water bills, close to $10,000 at some residences, and the city says it has to make the changes to re-tool the failing system.  The skyrocketing costs turn these people out of their homes, communities and livlihoods- just to pay the cost of water.  Is this what the rest of the United States will look like if we have a water crisis?  

The film presents a community in crisis but it also shows us the power of humans organizing and standing up for their basic rights. In light of this film, the REMIX Challenge, encourages people to use their art to speak out on water issues, and let's listeners challenge themselves to ask the tough questions like "who owns water?" 

Many artists, including Mos Def, Jay-Z Schmay-Z, Public Enemy and others are helping out to make sure that we continue to make the important connections between art, culture, class, and our basic rights as humans. 

Please check out the challenge, and while you're at it, host a screening of the WATER FRONT at your school, community, or campus.  

The Challenge
Remix "Mr. Waterman" by Joe L. Carter

The Prize
Our first place winner will receive a $400 cash prize and second place will win $100. The winner will be chosen by a panel of judges

Eligibility
The Contest is open to students and anyone interesting in participating.

How to Enter the Contest
Beginning at 12:00:01 am midnight EST on October 3rd, 2008 and continuing until 12:00 am EST on December 16th, 2008 you can submit your remix to “The Water Front Remix” contest by posting it on Relab or a 3rd party site and submitting the url.

Submission constitutes agreement to the rules of the Contest. Submissions with non-working links to audio will not be considered. Red Lizard Media is not responsible for technical problems on the host site.


To start working on your remix, sign up for an account and download the files here

All uploaded remixes are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.