Matt Damon, Ben Affleck ‘Thrilled’ To Produce Water Crisis Movie For HBO

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are teaming up to produce a movie about the global water crisis for HBO titled, Thirst, Variety reports. The film will see the Project Greenlight EPs continuing their relationship with the cable network, which has served as the go-to platform for many filmmakers to use to help bring awareness to global issues.

Produced and directed by Elliot Lester (Nightingale), from a script penned by Charles Leavitt (Blood Diamond), Thirst is described as a multi-layered story set against the backdrop of the global water crisis, of which Damon is a passionate advocate. He is the founder of water.org, which has spread awareness about the lack of clean drinking water, most especially in third world countries.

1 in 3 people can’t access clean water, proper sanitation, or both #SDGs @water http://t.co/xeDbkmfz4e pic.twitter.com/PfRZfEcXAh

— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) September 9, 2015

“As a guy who has four daughters, this is a huge issue for women and girls: girls are often left to leave school and go find water, and that obviously has a huge impact on the quality of life they can expect to have,” Matt Damon said on his site.

“We are thrilled to be working with HBO on this project; we cannot think of a better partner to handle this type of film,” said Damon and Affleck in a statement. “Both Elliott and Chuck are creative forces who bring an extraordinary vision to the material and we are very excited to be a part of it.”

Along with Affleck, Damon and Lester, executive producers include Josh Weinstock, Jennifer Todd and Drew Vinton. Leavitt serves as co-executive producer, along with Margaret Chernin.

“We are extremely pleased to continue our collaboration with Matt and Ben,” said Michael Lombardo, president of HBO programming. “As two of today’s most gifted filmmakers, they are once again using their cinematic talents to bring awareness to this pressing global issue.”

Damon and Affleck have been working together on and off ever since they co-wrote the drama Good Will Hunting in 1997. While Ben has been in the news all summer for his split from his wife of 10 years Jennifer Garner, Matt Damon told InStyle earlier this month why he decided to be a part of water.org.

“Just looking at issues in this world, water was just such a huge part of the entire problem — water and sanitation. Every 21 seconds a child dies from lack of access to clean water and sanitation. It’s something that’s impossible for us to almost wrap our brains around because we’re never thirsty.”

Damon explained that Americans are used to having easy access to clean water via faucets, and sanitation via toilets, something that he believes many people often take for granted.

“The concept that children are dying by the millions every year is something that a lot of people don’t know. Having been to some of these communities and seeing the way that kids are missing school, I realized that there’s a chance to have a big impact on a lot of people’s lives.”

Matt Damon is currently receiving rave reviews for his role in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi drama, The Martian, which begins playing in U.S. cinemas on October 2.

[Photos by Angela Weiss/Getty Images]

[Image via Twitter]