Water World

How did you choose this theme?

Edward Burtynsky,the co-director for this film,had earlier done a photo essay on oil. Then he was commissioned a photo essay in California for a project by National Geographic. The state has very little water of its own. Most of it flows in from other states and it has very complicated water treaty agreements. When we looked at those photographs which comprised places such as Owen’s Lake in California,we decided it was the right thing to do and we started working on Watermark.

The scale of this project is massive. How did you map out the areas shown in the film?

It took a year of research and development. We mostly used local researchers to find places where you could look at man’s relationship with water. We had almost 400 possibilities,which was then narrowed down to 20. We were clear that each of the stories should become a symbol of the rest of that country. So there are two dams shown in the film,one is the Xiaolangdi dam on the Yellow river,where you see this massive silt release,which they do once a year. You get these huge plumes of muddy water but the main dam story is the Xiloudo dam,which is on the upper Yangtse river. The tanneries in Dhaka become emblematic of the industrial use of water. There is a direct link between those relatively medieval tanneries and the absence of any regulation of effluents from the leather that is made.

What was the most enjoyable part of making a film on such a scale?

The Kumbh mela proved to be a spiritual apex for the crew. It was difficult to get there,with the transport network shut down. Our crew was camping for two weeks. Though I could not personally accompany the crew for this one,seeing an ocean of people having their private,spiritual and religious moments with water,was quite overwhelming. For me,the most enjoyable bit was going to Northern British Columbia because I grew up there and have not seen the place on such a level — a pristine landscape that is threatened by mining projects,fracking and mineral interests. The thought that you could be standing where no other person has been was overwhelming. We did try to show the different existential moments of people interacting with water and have the stories illuminating each other through juxtapositions.

The film is visually stunning. Don’t you think the seriousness of the message gets diluted with such a technique?

There are a lot of films which deal with water scarcity and each with a different style. We try to do non-didactic filmmaking. The goal is to create an experience for the filmmaker,which is immersive and to open up a space to think about something in a different way rather than telling you what to think. It is a very collaborative form with the audience,in terms of interpretation. One of things that bothers me about polemics is that they are reductive. Our films are art pieces in themselves rather than being didactic.

What message did you take away from this film?

One of the things I learnt from making this film is that,when you don’t let water go back the way it is,it creates a lot of problems. It is best not to tamper with nature. Also,the act of turning on a water tap has much more significance for me before we embarked on this five-year journey.