"Despite living far from our rivers, we are more deeply connected to them than we can imagine"

BENGALURU: Amid the ongoing water wars in Karnataka comes a free-for-all festival that brings awareness about the importance of rivers and oceans. The Moving Waters Film Festival (MWFF), is held in Bengaluru on September 17 and 18 at the Max Mueller Bhavan and is supported by Nature in Focus, Suchitra Film Society, Jungle Lodges and Resorts and Candor International School.

The festival screens animation, short films and documentaries, including five world premieres.There are films on Bengaluru's Vrishabhavathy and Arkavathy rivers, and features by Peter McBride, Ben Knight, Claudia and Hendrik Schmidt, Andreas Roth Will Stauffer-Norris and other national films. There are eight speakers and panel discussions.

In an email interview, Nisarg Prakash and Tarun Nair of MWFF talk to ET about why a festival on water conservation is the need of the hour, and what their platform intends to achieve:

a) How was the idea of the festival conceptualised? Why a festival on water conservation?

The Moving Waters Film Festival was conceived to showcase the grandeur of rivers and oceans and highlight issues plaguing them to people living away from these ecosystems. Our seas and rivers sustain us in myriad ways, but we know little about them. We know less about the ocean floor than the surface of the Moon or even Mars! They are among the last frontiers of adventure and exploration. Yet, our rivers and oceans are threatened by exploitation and pollution, that is often beneath the surface and invisible to our eyes.

Despite living far from our coastline and rivers, we are more deeply connected to them than we can imagine.
Through films that tell stories about the people, places and ecosystems that make up our rivers and oceans, the MWFF will bring the latest in aquatic issues to audiences in Bengaluru. As the first film festival in India to be themed along our rivers and oceans, we hope to bridge the worlds of research, exploration, conservation and filmmaking in India.

b) When you say you intend to marry research, conservation and film-making, how exactly do you intend to achieve that through your content?

Content was curated to address all of the above perspectives, with the hope that ideas that might arise lead to a forum for discussion.

c) What are the different discourses around water that you want to explore?

Water equity, distribution, conservation, wise-use, restoration, and decentralized access.

d) Do you think such platforms make an impact on the minds of people? To what extent do you think films and talks get people thinking?

Memory is not infallible, and its easy to forget what these waters once were. When there are stories and visuals from different parts of the country and the world, they serve as a constant reminder that ?we can do better to treat our rivers and oceans better. Most of the success stories are those that involve communities; communities that rise up to protect their rivers.

Sometimes, laws with the help of science step in to help restore our rivers by advocating removal of dams. Dams have been such a controversial topic for so long. Most have long outlived their benefits and only end up choking a river. Festivals like these seed new ideas, something that one day will grow to be important. It is also a good place to meet people and collaborate.

e) So is the festival more about awareness, at this stage, than impact?

Yes, more as a platform for awareness and discussion at this stage.

f) The water issue is of crucial importance in Bengaluru now. Will this edition of the festival provide ways to solve that?

Certainly not, MWFF was never intended as a forum /initiative to solve any specific issues like the one in the limelight. Instead, we want to sensitize people to rivers and oceans, the issues plaguing them, and hope that through interactions with speakers and others at the event, people attending the event will discuss and ponder over water related issues.

MWFF will be held on September 17 and 18, from 10 am to 8 pm. Entry is free for all. For details on the schedule, visit: www.movingwatersfilmfestival.org