Shortlisted Entries

Moving Mountains

Moving Mountains centres around issues of dependency, recharge and social-ecological realities shaped by groundwater. It will also dwell on the consequences of coupling land rights with water rights. It aims to explore what this does to disparity in distribution as well as recharge.

Antarjala

Antarjala is about Bengaluru’s changing relationship with water has been a story of urban growth, and also one of intimate change in a community’s relationship with water. The proposal aims to dive into understanding ‘scarcity’ as more than just a natural phenomenon, but also a socially mediated political process.

Navadi

Navadi is the story of a boat rider who rescues hundreds of people trapped in the flood every year in Kolhapur. The proposal explores the evident reasons of flood as unplanned urbanization and lack of disaster management response.

पानी का खेल (Waiting)

पानी का खेल (Waiting) seeks to represent water access issues in Mumbai as more than just that. It depicts the all-consuming process of obtaining an official water connection as a resident of an informal settlement, and through that, raises questions of legitimacy, right, and belonging.

फासले (So far, So close)

फासले (So far, So close) charts instances of disparities in distribution attempting to make palpable, its far reaching consequences. It also aims to unravel the contradiction of distances associated with the ‘urban organism’ – which demands being fed with people & resources from far & wide.

डूबती ईंटे (Sinking Bricks)

डूबती ईंटे (Sinking Bricks) looks at a family living in a small brick house, surrounded with water on all sides during the rains. This water contains wastewater and industrial waste from the colonies, garbage and rain water which all gets stagnant here. The proposal is about the daily struggle of this family and the many people living here.

நீ ரின்றி அமையாது (Nothing without Water)

நீ ரின்றி அமையாது (Nothing without Water) looks at how water is the most essential component that sustains human life. But we’ve come a long way from thriving around a river’s existence to disrespecting its presence and contributions. This proposal narrates the story of exploitation of Ennore’s rich Creek and Kosasthalaiyar river due to excess encroachments and discharges by government and private industrial ambitions.

শিলসাঁকোৰ উদং বুকু (Remember Xilxaku)

শিলসাঁকোৰ উদং বুকু (Remember Xilxaku) is about the ecosystem of Xilxaku Beel, an important wetland in Guwahati is being destroyed to make an artificial concrete eco-park. I met the fairy of the Beel, Jol Kuwori, who was crying helplessly beside her destroyed home.

The Chaviwallahs of Mumbai

The Chaviwallahs of Mumbai looks to explore the idea of what makes water move in this city. Who has access to it and who doesn’t. While the keymen control the flow of water by opening and closing of valves, who are the real chaviwallah’s that influence the flow of water in this city.

Bombay Hotel

Bombay Hotel explores the relationship that children of the Bombay Hotel area in Ahmedabad share with water and its accessibility while living next to the city’s largest garbage site.

The Bhavi Project

The Bhavi Project documents open wells as traditional water systems and their changing needs, through the lens of Vaddars, the traditional well-digger community in Bengaluru city. Through engrained stories, the film builds an inquiry towards the sustenance of these open wells and their adaptation to cater to increasing water needs and changing lifestyles.

Aragol

Aragol looks at the life of the migrant artisanal coracle fishing community whose economies and livelihood solely depend on the Cochin estuary. It will illustrate the paradoxical relationship the community has with the city and its water body.

Bypassing Diaras

Bypassing Diaras attempts to document the unique relationship between the residents of Diara and the river Ganga in Patna. Diaras are riverine islands formed between the natural levees of the river as a result of silt deposition. In recent years, there has been a massive push toward infrastructure building, particularly projects concerned with urban mobility. But Diaras continue to face mobility challenges due to annual flooding and exclusionary planning.

The Many Journeys of Water

The Many Journeys of Water is an exploration of the many journeys of water—from fresh to black and grey waters—and the journey of a few women who are intrinsically linked to this journey of water.