by Claudia Praolini
Human being: a water creature.
The Supernature focus this year is largely devoted to short films featuring water as their main character. Water is an essential element for life on our planet, yet during history we acted as if it were an inextinguishable resource. Climate change has now confronted us with the fact that water resources must be preserved. We can already observe what happens in territories affected by desertification: animal and plant life disappears and such areas become unbearable for human beings. The answer is a radical change in our attitude towards this vital, precious resource. We need to raise awareness about the fact that wasting water and polluting rivers and seas is an ecological crime that is inflicting and will continue to inflict its disastrous effects on today’s humanity and on future generations. Maybe, to think about the future, we should somehow go back to the past, to ancient times, when water was nothing more than an expression of God, the god of creation, wisdom, and fertility. The films that make up this Focus explore the role of water from different points of view, as an agent of change and transformation in the landscape and of life of those who live there, whether it in territories destined to be periodically flooded, or in places water has simply disappeared, leaving behind nothing but an ocean of dust.
Films featured in Supernature 2026:
Belle River, Guillaume Fournier, Samuel Matteau, Yannick Nolin, Canada, Quebec, USA, 2021, documentary, 11′
Chuuraa, Evgenia Arbugaeva, UK, 2026, documentary, 18′
Haulout, Evgenia Arbugaeva, Maxim Arbugaev, UK, Russian Federation, 2022, documentary, 25′
La Creciente (The Rising), Lluís Miras Vega & Luz Ruciello, Argentina, 2016, documentary, 13′
Once There Was A Sea, Joanna Kozuch, Poland, Slovakia, 2021, animation, 16′
Solenopsis Invicta, Victor Missud, France, 2025, documentary, 30′
The Coast, Sohrab Hura, India, 2021, experimental documentary, 17′