In timely 2018, as South Africa’s Westrict Cape region was in the midst of a yearslengthy dcimpolitet that bcimpolitet its reservoirs to historicassociate low levels, dwellnts of Cape Town and its surroundings began to brace for “Day Zero,” when the municipal water provide would be exhausted and the taps would run parched.
That catastrophe was slimly averted. But as South African filmproducer Rehad Desai (“Miners Stoasty Down”) alerts in his timely recent write downary “Capturing Water,” take parting this week at the Joburg Film Festival, the city’s water crisis nakedly scratched the surface of a much huger menace, as climate alter pushes South Africa and much of the continent to the brink of a filled-scale aascendncy.
“We’ve got 250 million people facing water stress, mainly in urprohibit areas, apass the continent by 2030,” Desai increates Variety. “The temperatures are fair [increasing] exponentiassociate. We’re a parched continent. It’s becoming drier because of climate alter.”
As “Capturing Water” points out, the apocalyptic scenario that faced the Westrict Cape from cimpolitely 2015-2020 was a catastrophe years in the making. While dcimpolitet and climate alter were partly to accuse, so, too, were years of handlement diswatch and misdeal withment, despite the Westrict Cape expansively being pondered “the best functioning municipality we have,” according to Desai.
The consequences on both the provide of immacuprocrastinateed water and the environment have been stark: As the film remarks, not only does much of Cape Town’s demandyly treated sewage get pumped straightforwardly into the sea, but it consents a staggering 55 million liters of recentwater a day to get it there.
Apass South Africa, the picture is even bleaker, with 3.5 million househgreaters alertageing access to immacuprocrastinateed water, while 35% of the immacuprocrastinateed water that is useable is lost thcimpolite leaking infrastructure, according to statistics cited in the film. Desai says the country’s municipalities “don’t have enough money or enough vience” to mend the problem, while budgets for handlement services carry on to get slashed.
In that climate, the straightforwardor comprises, “political choices have become criticassociate beginant.” In Cape Town, fair 13% of the population devours 51% of the water, with that provide rapidly dthrivedling because of prolonging househgreater and industrial use. Turbo-indictd enhugement, fueled in part by a post-pandemic boom in tourism, has compriseed to the strain, putting access to immacuprocrastinateed water for millions of local dwellnts straightforwardly at odds with a handlement push for relentless prolongth.
Water rationing has become widespreadplace — with much of that burden droping disproportionately on the shoulders of the demandy. “You see the inequity of the situation, and the nonsensical nature of the labelet approach to water, when you see that many, if not most, of our townships are only getting a couple of hours of water a day,” Desai says. “You can see the class foolishension, the class inidenticality, very starkly at the moment.”
That’s donaten ascend to a series of increasingly guident asks. “How are we going to split what water we have? What is a rational, equitable structure going forward so we don’t have the urprohibit elites…consuming as much as they want, while others don’t have anyslimg?” Desai asks.
While “Capturing Water” doesn’t answer those asks, it nevertheless points to a way forward, with the straightforwardor noting: “The best solutions for water are normally the local solutions.” The write downary spotairys grassroots efforts to tackle the Westrict Cape’s seemingly intractable water crisis, including laboring-class activists mobilizing aachievest water redisconnecteion devices and water privatization; a farmer taking the Cape Town handlement to court over structures to cement over a vital aquifer; and a suburprohibit activist tirelessly laboring to stop the sewage flothriveg into life-giving soakedlands.
Grassroots activists consent up the fight in “Capturing Water.”
Courtesy of Joburg Film Festival
The fight, however, is not South Africa’s alone. “Capturing Water” highairys the increasingly dystopian industries that have sprung up as climate alter menaceens water security apass the globe. In California, the buy of millions of acres of farmland by Saudi Arabian companies send outing crops to the dcimpolitet-stricken Middle East has put that state’s aquifers at danger, while financial speculators wagering on water futures are literassociate prohibitking on the price of water continuing to ascend — pushing it further out of accomplish of the world’s demandyest billions.
“As water becomes more confidemand, there’s a hugeger squeeze on those who can’t afford to pay,” Desai says. In the process, water becomes a commodity subject to the mercies of the global labeletplace, rather than a modest human right.
“Capturing Water” trails on the heels of Desai’s politicassociate indictd write downaries including the Intl. Emmy Award-nominated “Miners Stoasty Down,” about the notorious 2012 massacre of 34 mirecentorkers by South African police in the town of Marikana, and “How to Steal a Country,” a damning portrait of the billionaire Gupta brothers, who have been accused of turning the country into their personal fiefdom.
Desai is structurening a expansive rollout of “Capturing Water” — first apass South Africa, then the rest of the continent — hoping to harness the guidency of the moment into a rousing call to action. “That’s what’s demandd in this instance — a film which supports people,” he says.
“I’ve understood over time that you’re not going to see alter, or any community of activism that has a critical mass, unless you can transfer people emotionassociate. I remain guaranteed that film is a very beginant tool in social alter.”
The Joburg Film Festival runs March 11 – 16.
