In 2010, a team traveled to South Sudan weeks before its referendum for independence. They went to shoot a documentary following the day in the life of a child profoundly affected by her community’s lack of access to clean water. We met and fell in love with Jina Teji, a brilliant twelve-year-old girl from Hai Village outside of Yei, Sudan. Jina is the primary caretaker of five younger siblings and a sickly grandmother. Three times a day, Jina made a two-mile circuit to the local water source, a tepid, green hole filled with gray water. The groundwater hollow is the primary source of water for 3000 villagers. Jina’s daily treks to the water hole dominated her life.

We filmed in Hai village because of the incoming well. During our filming week, Water is Basic drilled Hai's first well, which allowed us to see the profound difference one well can make in the life of a child. That one child is the story of water in South Sudan.

Ru (Water is Life) is a story about the strength, joy and resilience of the people of South Sudan, seen through the eyes of a young girl, who have somehow adapted to a nation plagued with the threat of civil war. Two months after filming Ru, South Sudan became a free nation. The doors to bring fresh water to the world's newest country are wide-open. For most in South Sudan, the trek for water is an arduous daily journey. For every Sudanese, water is life.

Ru the Film
ruthefilm.com
P.O. Box 2135, Coppell, TX 75019
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Third international film festival lauds Ru: Water is Life

Two years ago, a small group of North Texas friends and filmmakers made a commitment to help the South Sudanese recovering from a devastating 50-year civil war gain easy access to clean drinking water. The culmination of their efforts led to the mid-July 2012 release of their documentary Ru: Water is Life.

Today, in addition to creating a growing interest in the plight of the South Sudanese, the dream of these men has also culminated in a growing flood of interest from international film festivals.

On September 5, the UNSPOKEN Human Rights Film Festival announced that Ru: Water is Life has been selected for inclusion in its 2012 program, hosted in Utica, New York, Oct. 18-20. This news came on the heels of learning the 19-minute documentary had been chosen for the 2012 Chicago International Social Change Film Festival and 2012 Global Peace Film Festival.

The UNSPOKEN Human Rights Film Festival is part of an annual forum that also includes a conference and arts and entertainment festival. According to UNSPOKEN organizers, their festival includes “a variety of both short and feature length films exposing human rights violations from around the globe.” The intent of UNSPOKEN is to “offer rare insight, perspective, and solutions to these pressing issues.”

Ru: Water is Life tells the true story of the hardship endured by a 12-year-old South Sudanese girl with the responsibility of acquiring the only water available to her family. Three times daily, Jina Teji lugs a five-gallon jerry can down a two-mile path to a hole filled with muddy run-off groundwater. The eight-mile trek also leaves no time for the bright young girl to attend her village school.

To learn more about Ru: Water is Life, go to ruthefilm.com.