The water glistens as it arcs through the air, the edgy electronic soundtrack creating a sense of anticipation.

Not the latest advert for a luxury brand of bottled water, but a disturbing new film depicting the process of waterboarding, the controversial interrogation method used by US security services.

Instead of splashing into a glass, the water is shown falling into the face of an Arab-looking man, whose mouth is held open by a gloved hand. He wails and shakes in his shackles, but the three hooded men carrying out the interrogation are unmoved.

The 15-rated advert, made by Amnesty International, will be shown in selected cinemas across Britain from next month.

It has been created to show what Amnesty claims is the harrowing reality of waterboarding, which involves restraining a prisoner on a board with the subject's head lower than his feet. Water is then poured on the face, triggering a gag reflex and choking the subject.

The CIA has admitted carrying out the treatment on at least three al-Qa'eda suspects - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah and Abdul-Rahim al-Nashiri - but says that no waterboarding has been carried out since 2003. It was halted by Gen Michael Hayden, the CIA director, in 2006.

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