Moving Waters Film Festival Bangalore 2018
The Moving Waters Film Festival (MWFF) is set to make a splash this weekend in Bengaluru. It’s going to be two days of underwater wonder experienced through film screenings, interactive workshops and talks by some of the world’s leading water warriors.
About the Event
The mixed media festival explores all that makes ours a blue planet — the rivers, lakes and oceans and the life they support. For the third year in succession, the festival will engage conservationists, researchers, activists, artists and citizens on issues that affect the aquatic environment.
The 2018 Bangalore Edition (22-23 September) is hosted by Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan with support from Jungle Lodges & Resorts, Printo, Nature inFocus, Three Cats Design, Ever After Learning, Go Native, Oorjaa, and My Wish: Your Thought, Our Creation.
Selection of Films
MWFF presents a curation of visually appealing, hard-hitting films that aim to help viewers navigate the tricky waters of our times. The films hope to kindle awe and curiosity, and inspire an informed citizenry. This is a call-to-arms to stop the destruction of our rivers, lakes and oceans.
The 2018 shortlist features, among others, Suresh Elamon’s Kananam: The Spirit of Silent Valley, a story of a people’s movement to protect the Kunthi River and the valley it flows through; in Racing Extinction Oscar-winner Louie Psihoyos assembles a team of artists and activists intent on showing the world previously unseen images that expose issues of endangered species and mass extinction; Blue Heart, by Britton Caillouette and Patagonia, documents the fight to save the last wild rivers in the Balkans; Ocean’s Monopoly examines ‘how nations use science to conquer the sea’ and what it would mean to reclaim land indefinitely beyond coastlines; and in Tale of a Lake Marko Röhr, Kim Saarniluoto and a mystical water spirit take us into the icy waters of Finland’s Lake Saimaa.
Meet the Speakers
The 2018 expert speaker list includes dolphin biologist Dr Coralie D’Lima, who will talk about how Irrawaddy dolphins and fishers mutually help each other in Odisha’s Chilika Lagoon; Silpa V Kumar (IFS), whose talk is paired with the film Kananam, will share her experience as a former wildlife warden in Silent Valley National Park; Tiasa Adhya, co-founder of The Fishing Cat Project, reveals the contradictions in policies that drive habitat loss for fishing cats; wildlife conservationist Samad Kottur will recount his efforts to save the Tungabhadra River, and the creation of the Tungabhadra Otter Conservation Reserve; Marianne Manuel, Assistant Director at Dakshin, focuses on coastal governance, fishing communities, and the dynamics between the traditional governance and legal framework; and from Save River Cauvery Foundation, Devika Devaiah will explore the many meanings of River Cauvery, and future opportunities to save it.
Workshops
The 2018 edition also features two workshops — Rithesh Nanda, one part of the father-son nature photography duo, will introduce underwater photography and its nuances; while Nisha Abdulla, a performance storyteller and playwright from Ever After Learning, has an ocean-themed storytelling workshop for children lined up.
Catch all the action on their social media channels: Instagram, Twitter and be sure to register for the festival here.