Project 'Volume Vivo' presents water crisis in São Paulo.
A documentary series aims to showcase various aspects of water in the state: how it is distributed, what investments have been made so far, and examples, even within homes, of how it can be reused; the videos will be directed by filmmaker Caio Ferraz, director of the short film "Entre rios" (Between Rivers).
Gisele Federicce, 247 – The state of São Paulo is currently experiencing the worst water crisis in the last 80 years. With news about the issue in the media, the fear that we may run out of water in the not-so-distant future is heightened. But many questions remain, and one of the main ones is: how did we get to this situation? What was (or wasn't) done to cause the problem to worsen to this extent?
In this context, the Volume Vivo project aims to clarify some of these issues and present water from various angles. It explores how water is distributed to the population, the infrastructure projects that have been implemented to improve supply, waste and misuse by residents, and its potential for reuse.
The idea comes from someone who has been working and researching the subject for about seven years, filmmaker Caio Silva Ferraz, director of the short film "Entre rios" (Between Rivers). The documentary tells the story of São Paulo's urbanization through its rivers and how they were treated to make the capital the megalopolis it is today. Recently, he was also responsible for a film about the privatization of water in Italy.
In an interview with 247Caio explains that the Volume Vivo films – which will be short videos of about six minutes each – will not only show news with negative predictions regarding water, but also what is being developed, whether in the form of ideas or infrastructure projects, to contribute to the conscious use and distribution of the resource.
"The idea is to show how water is distributed, what the supply networks are, to explain what a hydrographic basin and a micro-basin are, things that people don't know," says the director. "In addition, actions regarding waste, misuse of water, and reuse will be shown," he adds. In his assessment, the crisis is important for rethinking the entire management and use of water by the population.
The first video (watch below) begins by discussing the technical reserve, which has a name contrary to that of the project – dead volume. The water from this reserve was transferred in May to the Cantareira System, the main reservoir for the São Paulo metropolitan region. "The situation is so critical that, even if the rain falls in abundance, the recovery of the Cantareira will be slow," predicts the narrator. The video also informs that, despite there being no official rationing, "many residents of São Paulo are already suffering from water shortages."
The project is independent, and the filmmaker's team, working in partnership with journalist Luiz Miller, who is primarily responsible for research in the documentary production process, raises funds through crowdfunding, a financing scheme used for projects of collective interest. Donations can be made online (click here).