Pulitzer Center Update

Pulitzer Center at DC Environmental Film Festival

To mark World Water Day (March 22), the Pulitzer Center presented films on water and population at the 19th Annual Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital on Monday, March 21.

A discussion with Katherine Bliss, Director of the Global Water Policy Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and filmmakers Stephen Sapienza, Rhett Turner, Jonathan Wickham and Fred de Sam Lazaro followed the screening. The panel was moderated by Pulitzer Center Executive Director Jon Sawyer.

Featured films:

DHAKA'S CHALLENGE: A MEGACITY STRUGGLES WITH WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE (Bangladesh, 2011, 7 min.)
Over 1,000 people move to Dhaka everyday, but almost two-thirds of Dhaka's sewage is untreated and left to seep into waterways and the ground. Tens of thousands of people die each year of cholera, diarrhea, and other waterborne diseases in Bangladesh—but the country is also an innovator in promising new approaches to providing clean water and decent sanitation for all. Produced by Emmy Award Winner Stephen Sapienza.

DONGTING HU: A LAKE IN FLUX (China, 2011, 5 min.)
The surface area of Dongting Lake has fallen by half in the last 70 years. Lying off of the great Yangtze River, it is one of China's most important lakes. Land reclamation, pollution and overfishing threaten its existence. Produced by Sean Gallagher.

WATER SCARCITY ON THE INDUS RIVER (India and Pakistan, 2010, 7 min.)
The recent Indus flood put attention on too much water but Pakistan's real problem is too little—and too many people. This PBS NewsHour segment investigates how the impending water crisis might be related to population growth and poorly planned development. Reporting by PBS NewsHour Correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro, director of the Under-Told Stories Project at St. Mary University of Minnesota.

CHATTAHOOCHEE: FROM WATER WAR TO WATER VISION (USA, 2010, 8 min. excerpt)
For 20 years Alabama, Florida and Georgia have been locked in a fierce battle over one river—the Chattahoochee. Through the eyes of ordinary people up and down its banks, the film explores what's at stake and asks the question: Can differences be resolved before the waters run dry? Produced by Rhett Turner and Jonathan Wickham for Georgia Public Broadcasting. Learn more about the documentary.