Pistachio Wars — Stock Footage & Finishing Costs

Hi, my name is Yasha Levine. I’m the co-director of Pistachio Wars.

It’s a documentary about how a tiny group of billionaires have taken control of California's water — and how they have used that control to drain rivers, fuel real estate bubbles, fund wars, build vast plantations in the middle of a desert, and left a trail of abuse and environmental collapse behind them.

It's not just a California story but a story of our times — addressing the multiple technological, environmental, and political crises that are hitting us as we speak.

We just finished the film and have festival screenings confirmed for this summer. But before we can do that we have one last hurdle to clear.

Some of our sequences use stock and archival footage, and even after asking the various licensing companies for discounts, the bill is close to 20k — something we didn’t anticipate when we originally raised money for the film a few years ago.

We want to get this film out there, but we can’t wrap until we buy this stock — so we’re asking for your help again.

Every small donation adds up, so anything you can chip in helps!

A clip from Pistachio Wars explaining the creation of California’s aqueducts.

More Info about Pistachio Wars:

About Us

Yasha Levine is an investigative journalist who has covered California politics for over a decade. He is the author of Surveillance Valley, a book about the secret history of the Internet.

Rowan Wernham is a New Zealand born designer & filmmaker. His 2012 animated short x.o.genesis screened at numerous festivals including Slamdance, Maryland, and Glasgow, and was a prize winner at the LA New Wave film festival.