This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Pasadena, Calif. • Award-winning filmmaker Marina Zenovich titled her latest documentary "Water & Power: A California Heist," but she always had another title in the back of her mind.
"I decided to make this film because I thought it was 'Chinatown: The Documentary,' " said Zenovich.
The Oscar-winning 1974 film was set inside the dirty dealings involving California's water rights. So is "Water & Power," which premieres Monday at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City.
"For me, it was 'Chinatown,' " Zenovich said. "There's a character in the film — an old-time lawyer — who says, 'You know, someone once said to me, never underestimate the power of greed.'
"I'm interested in human beings and their behavior and what people will do to get what they want, no matter in any field. It's interesting. It's compelling. It's truth."
In "Water & Power," Zenovich uncovers high-level corruption that has exacerbated California's water crisis. There are villains — wealthy water barons who exploit the limited resource; there are victims — pretty much everybody else who lives in California.
And it isn't just that water is scarce, it's that water is being contaminated. And that's not just a problem for California — it endangers California farmland that provides more than half of America's fruits, nuts and vegetables.
"I'm originally from Central California. I know the issues with water, but I didn't know them deeply," Zenovich said. "And what I discovered is a lot's going on that we don't know about. So with the film, I hope it's just a call to arms for everyday citizens to see what is happening with our water and how it's being privatized without us knowing it."
The filmmaker is a Sundance veteran. Her 2008 documentary "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" won the Sundance editing award and a pair of Emmys. Coincidentally, Polanski directed "Chinatown."
Zenovich got a bit of a taste of "Chinatown," in which Jack Nicholson's character is followed as he gets too close to the truth. She did not, however, get beaten up the way Nicholson did.
"At one moment when we were filming on a dusty road in Central California, it was a little a little scary," she said, as she was, "just kind of snooping around" and she was approached and intimidated by people wanting to know what she was doing there and why.
"So it was nothing," Zenovich said. "But something, in making you kind of feel what could happen."
After premiering at Sundance, "Water & Power: A California Heist" will air this spring on the National Geographic Channel.
"I usually make films about people, but I'm very proud at this moment in time to be included in the [Sundance] climate section and have a film on Nat Geo," Zenovich said. "It feels like the right time."
Twitter: @ScottDPierce —
At Sundance
"Water & Power: A California Heist" (U.S. Documentary Competition) premieres Monday, Jan. 23, at 9:15 p.m. at the Temple Theatre in Park City. Other screenings are Tuesday, Jan. 24, at Prospector Square in Park City; Thursday, Jan. 26, at Broadway Centre Cinema 3 in Salt Lake City; Friday, Jan. 27, at Redstone Cinema 7 in Park City; and Saturday, Jan. 28, at 2:30 p.m. at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City.