When wars cost us our wonders

Polina Teif

It's alarming to think that in 30 years, there will be no Dead Sea, just a vast desert in its place. Director Polina Teif tries to highlight this danger with her experimental documentary, Eulogy for the Dead Sea. The film will have its India première at the All Living Things Environmental Film Festival, which is set to take place from December 1 to December 10 across 20 cities of the country.

Director Polina Teif's documentary is a photo series of sorts that uses visual metaphors to explain how political conflicts affect ecology

Amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict in Gaza, the documentary - a photo series of sorts - delves into how the political conflicts involving Israel, Jordan and Palestine affect the region's ecology. It chronicles how the Dead Sea is slowly shrinking due to water diversion from the Jordan River and extensive mineral extraction through evaporation pools. Boasting a unique ecosystem and therapeutic mineral-rich waters, the sea has experienced an alarming annual reduction of 1.3 metres, a phenomenon that forms the heart of the film.

In the documentary, which was shot entirely in Palestine, Teif utilises the shrinking shores and abandoned infrastructure in the region as visual metaphors to unravel the larger political narrative. She hopes that Eulogy for the Dead Sea, by travelling to film festivals, will make the larger population aware of the threats looming over the planet's lowest water body. She says, "Eulogy for the Dead Sea is more than a film; it's a call to action. By intertwining the ecological and political narratives, we hope to ignite conversations about the urgent need for sustainable solutions and international co-operation in preserving our planet's natural wonders."