Presented by Comcast. Cinequest is honored to have Water for our 2006 Closing Night Film.

From the courageous and provocative filmmaker Deepa Mehta comes Water, the profoundly moving and compellingly vibrant story of India's "widow houses," where women of all ages are taken to live (even today) apart from society following the deaths of their husbands.

The story begins in 1938 India as 8-year-old Chuyia (Sarala), who barely even remembers her wedding and has little comprehension of her marriage, has just been widowed. Required by Hindu laws to now leave society, she is brought to a dilapidated widow house where, according to custom, her hair will be shorn, her clothes exchanged for white robes and the rest of her life, until her death, will be spent in renunciation. But the feisty, precocious, disbelieving Chuyia soon turns the house upside down with her rebellious spark. She begins to have a profound affect on the other women who live there, and what happens next will change Chuyia and the widow house forever.

Sprinkled with humor, rife with universal emotions and alive with visual excitement, Water took, seven years to make and was nearly undone by fierce political controversy when violent protests threatened production. Years later, under a shroud of secrecy in the neighboring country of Sri Lanka, Mehta was able to complete the film and premiere to standing ovations at the Toronto Film Festival.

Following the screening and awards ceremony, join Cinequest, filmmakers and special guests for a Closing Night extravaganza in San Pedro Square hosted by Blake's Steakhouse and O'Flaherty's Irish Pub. Mingle with other film lovers and enjoy an assortment of food, drinks and music at each venue.