on the project and faints upon learning that Devi has died . Nia , too , shares a deep ancestral connection to water — she has a vision of she and her grandmother in a river , evoking an African-American tradition of outdoor baptisms . It is this moment where Nia and Mira become intimately linked through their shared histories of water as a sacred , life-giving force .
In her visit to our class on “ Artists , Social Change , and the Role of Journalism ” at
New York University this Spring , Kantayya shared more about her current focus on the clean energy economy with her new film , Catching the Sun . But water still remains an important issue for her . In the interview below , NYU student and young arts activist Vasiliki Eugenis spoke with Kantayya about the connection between water and privilege , how A Drop of Life is used as tool for activism worldwide , and what we ’ re not talking about when it comes to water , but should be .
Celeste Hamilton Dennis , Editor
Q : Why choose water as the subject of your film ? Was it based on a personal connection you have to this issue of access to clean water ?
A : I was on a Fulbright in India in 2001 . On a whim , a friend asked me to help him document a religious festival called Kumbh Mela , which is the largest gathering of human beings on the planet . It ’ s where an estimated 70 million people come to bathe at the confluence of three rivers : Ganga , Yamuna , and Shipra . I spent 40 days living on the banks of a river and watched these pilgrims take baths . I was moved by people who look at this river as a life-giving mother , and also called into question some cultural practices . You call it mother , but then how do you throw all this paper and plastic into it as offerings ?
So , the film developed out of this very intimate relationship I had with the Ganga where people have offered prayers for over a millennia . That sent me on a journey . I started to research fervently about water and water issues . What I learned shook me out of my seat . An estimated four billion people , two thirds of the world ’ s population , will not have access to clean drinking water within the next 15 years . Q : You chose science fiction to tell this story , over documentary or drama . A : I ’ m a geek and a sci-fi fanatic . I love Star Wars . My life was changed by 1984 . I really think sometimes that science fiction can give us a better mirror of reality than even documentary can . This idea of having prepaid water meters on village water pumps where you can ’ t get water unless you have money to pay for it is sort of like a science fiction . The more I researched , I realized these water meters existed in 10 countries . I had this
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