Water

2005, India, Deepa Mehta, 117 min.

Introduced by writer Meera Nair

Set in the holy city of Varanasi, Deepa Mehta’s Water follows a group of widows forced into poverty at an ashram. Life takes a new turn for Chuyia, a young widow who finds love with Narayan, a young Gandhi supporter. The couple is faced with a tough challenge: will they be brave enough to fight tradition and find a way to make their love grow?

About the Speaker

Meera Nairis the author of Video (Pantheon) and two children’s books. Video won the Seventh Annual Asian-American Literary Award and was selected as one of the Washington Post’s “Best Books of the Year”. Nair’s work has appeared on NPR, the Washington Post, the New York Times and in several anthologies in the United States and abroad.

About Cabaret Cinema: Rain

Inspired by Nepalese Seasons: Rain and Ritual, this summer Cabaret Cinema showcases classic rain-drenched films that allude to the power of the downpour. From Wellington boots to wet saris, rain in cinema brings about more than a shift in sartorial perspective; it is a life-affirming, awe-inspiring, and terrifying force. Notable introducers (including a few meteorologists) will help the audience to understand the importance of cinematic showers as harbingers of elemental emotional states. Learn more