The Grab

The documentary follows who is buying up water and farmland around the world. In Arizona a farmer describes his well running dry while a Saudi company draws water from the same basin. In Zambia villagers are pushed off their land. In Russia private military companies appear inside agricultural deals. The film is not interested in the environment. It is interested in ownership: its thesis is plain, that the coming struggle for power will run through water and food rather than oil, and that the buying has already begun. The form is investigative documentary: years of work by a team of journalists, leaked documents, map animations and field footage. Gabriela Cowperthwaite directed; she was known for Blackfish. The film rests on a large body of documents obtained by reporters at the Center for Investigative Reporting, and those documents form its spine. Who it is for: viewers interested in investigative journalism and resource politics. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a tidy narrative. The film travels across too many countries and subjects and cannot always make the connections clear.