Antipode + Anthropictures + Institute of Social Anthropology UNIBE + Center for Strategic Studies UJ + Pandistan
present an ecographic film by PAVEL BORECKÝ
“An impressive eco-survey of Jordan”
Making the desert bloom?
LIVING WATER is an atmospheric journey into the clash between the state of Jordan, agricultural businesses and Wadi Rum indigenous communities over the last abundant source of drinking water.
World Premiere - 24th Ji.hlava IDFF
International Premiere - Visions du Réel 2021
The feature documentary film emerges as the result of year-long field research.
Trailer
Film Crew
Camera, directing and editing: Pavel Borecký
Location sound and sound design: John Grzinich
Dramaturgy: Veronika Janatková
Colour grading: Branko Avramovski
Graphic design: Daniel Vojtíšek
Music: Shadi Khries
Research supervision: Michaela Schäuble, Elias Salameh
Script consultations: Hussam Hussein
3D groundwater model: Muna Dahabiyeh, Mark Gropius
Technical Specifications
English title: Living Water
Czech title: Žít vodu
Arabic title: ماءٌ حَيٌّ
Genre: observational non-fiction
Release: October 2020
Countries of production: Czech Republic, Switzerland, Jordan
Shooting location: Jordan
Runtime: 77 min. / 52 min. TV cut
Format: 4K, 16:9
Sound: stereo / 5.1 Dolby Digital
Director
Pavel Borecký (Prague, 1986) is a social anthropologist, audiovisual ethnographer and film curator. Pavel’s latest films Solaris (2015) and In the Devil's Garden (2018) focused on the consumption culture in Estonia and the question of decolonisation in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Living Water is his first feature documentary film.
Co-producer
Veronika Janatková is a film producer, director and programmer, co-founder of DokuBaku IDFF, the first independent documentary film festival in Azerbaijan. Her directing debut, Ticket to the Moon (2019), deals with utopias in the context of space explorations.
Water Guardians - crowdfunding support
Markéta Broumová, Thomas Burkhalter, Erminia Colucci, Aura Cruz, John C. Grzinich Sr., Josef Minařík, Mike Poltorak, Jana Pyšková and Reto Stamm
Stills
Posters
Synopsis
The vibration of machines echoes across the desert. Ever since Jordanian nomads settled in the spectacular landscape of Wadi Rum, they grew dependent on complex water infrastructure. The source is right below their feet, yet they struggle to meet basic needs.
In the meantime, deep water extraction feeds private large-scale farms, animates visionary development and secures growing urban population. Bedouins, farmers and city dwellers: they all expect to have a fair share, but digging for “blue gold” unleashes environmental timebomb.
LIVING WATER tells the story of power, exploitation and changing ecological circumstances in one of the most water-poor countries in the world.
Media:
Modern Times Review - Jordan’s fragile water resources (Nick Holdsworth's review, ENG)
Business Doc Europe - VdR/CPH: Measuring the competition for water (Geoffrey Macnab's review, ENG)
Czech Film Center - Living Water to internationally premiere at the Visions du Réel Festival 2021
Variety - ‘Living Water’ Attempts to Raise the Bar on Environmental Documentaries (Will Tizard's review, ENG)
dok.revue - The world is facing a crisis, writing scientific studies is not enough (interview, CZ)
Czech Radio Vltava - ArtCafé (interview, audio, CZ)
RTVS Radio - Living City (panel discussion, audio, Slovak)
Production:
Anthropictures, Pandistan, Institute of Social Anthropology UNIBE
Center for Strategic Studies UJ
produced by Pavel Borecký and Veronika Janatková
in partnership with Art Salam (Paris)
with support of Al Jazeera Documentary (Doha)
Distribution:
Antipode Sales and Distribution
Elena Podolskaya - elena(at)antipode-sales.biz
Director's Audiovisual Statement - Visions du Réel: Carte Blanche
Film screenings
24th Ji.hlava IDFF - "Testimonies" competition - Czech Republic - 27/10 - 11/11 / 2020
Center for Theoretical Study, Czech Academy of Sciences - Guest lecture - Czech Republic - 4/3 / 2021
Visions du Réel - National competition - Switzerland - 15/4 - 25/4 / 2021
Movies that Matter - Earth at Stake (Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs selection) - Netherlands - 16/4 - 25/4 / 2021
CPH:DOX - CPH:Science - Copenhagen, Denmark - 21/4 - 12/5 / 2021
CPH:DOX - CPH:Academy - Guest lecture - Denmark - 29/4 / 2021
Academia Film Olomouc - Czech & Slovak competition - Czech Republic - 27/4 - 11/5 / 2021
ethnocineca - Austria - 6 - 13/5 / 2021
Ammar Khammash, watercolor, 2006, 32cmx26cm
