California Ag TODAY: Merced County Farm Bureau Co-Hosts Event

Merced County residents will have the opportunity to view “The Fight for Water: A Farm Worker Struggle” a documentary based on the historic 2009 march across the Westside of the Central Valley to the San Luis Reservoir by farmers and farm workers.

On Wednesday, August 21, 2013, the filmmaker, Juan Carlos Oseguera will be screening his film at the University of California Merced Lakireddy Theater at 6:30 p.m. Admission is Free.

This film interviews people who were facing economic perils, and united themselves to demand that irrigation restrictions be lifted and water supplies be returned for the betterment of the community. The film, which has been screening at film festivals, won an “Honorable Mention Award” for Best Documentary Feature at the Los Angeles Movie Awards. It was recently chosen as an Official Selection to the Action on Film International Film Festival, which will be held August 16-24 2013 in Monrovia, California.

This special screening is being co-sponsored by the University of California Merced; Merced Irrigation District; the California Farm Water Coalition; the Merced County Farm Bureau Federation; and Yosemite Farm Credit. The Lakireddy Theater is located at 5200 N. Lake Road, Merced, Classroom and Office Building (COB) 102. The film will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be followed by a panel discussion featuring film participants and local stakeholders.

The film features Joe Del Bosque, and George Delgado, both Westside farmers with operations in Fresno and Merced Counties. During the film these local farmers share their personal experiences about how a federal court ruling designed to protect the Delta smelt contributed to fields going dry throughout portions of the Westside. The frustration in the community peaked in 2009 when farmers received only 10 percent of their water allocations, while refuges that protect threatened fish received all of the water designated to them. Oseguera’s work gives a voice to people who were most affected by the man-made drought and shows the resulting unified story of survival.

As news reports continue to address the water shortages, Filmmaker Oseguera said he hopes the film provides a voice to farm laborers and their rural communities which have been overlooked in recent years. “My parents were migrant farmworkers and many of my relatives are still working in the fields,” he said. “This is lending a voice to that.”

Thanks to Amanda Carvajal Executive Director of the Merced County Farm Bureau, for administrating this post!