As pollution from upstream factories and mills flows down to the sea, the once rich waters around Sao Braz, a traditional maritime community in Bahia, Brazil, are no longer able to sustain the marine life which provided employment and sustenance for the villagers. As their catches diminish, fishermen intensify their efforts, further depleting stocks. And, as protein sources become scarce, malnutrition among the young rises.

Stunningly photographed, BLACK WATER portrays the plight of Brazilians who are suffering the environmental impact and the human costs of poorly planned industrial planning, over which they have no control.

"Tales of canoes brimming with shrimp are long past. Thick blackwater, pungent with the smell of caustic soda, flows from the factory'swaste pipes into the estuary, killing the fish and the shellfish..."--Moving Pictures Bulletin

"A rare combination - a visually beautiful video that also has valuein terms of both ethnography and ecology... a magnificent example of anunusual genre - ethnographic film for advocacy, likely to be appreciatedaesthetically and emotionally by students at almost any level."--American Anthropologist