Watermark

Canada, 2013, 100' 

From China to Bangladesh, from the US to India, a journey that, since the earliest images of majestic water swirls brutally contrasted with those of a vast parched area which used to be a riverbed, declares the theme of this work: water is a precious commodity but the use that humans have made and continue to make of it is leading to its quick depletion. 

On her second collaboration with photographer Edward Burtynsky after Manufactured Landscapes, dedicated to the impact of industrialization on the ecosystem, Canadian documentary filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal deals with a crucial theme for the survival of our planet, i.e., its water resources. The picturesque, almost spectacular approach is sustained by both impressive and dramatic pictures, and the beautiful footage as well as lyrical editing should not mislead the viewer: from the seemingly magnificent filmed sceneries results a deeply-felt reflection on the dangers of the future, unpromising and no longer distant. The title also sounds as a warning to remind us that, once the threshold is crossed, there is no turning back.