2025 Water Film Prize

Ancient Hydro-Technologies (AHTs) are time-tested water management solutions that did not just sustain civilizations for millennia, they created harmony between communities and their environments, preserved biodiversity, and fostered social bonds, particularly in the world’s most arid regions.

The 2025 edition of the Water Film Prize, themed “Back to Our Future”, celebrates these ingenious water management technologies our ancestors developed over millennia.

Ancient Hydro-Technologies have played distinct roles throughout history:

• Water Transportation: Qanats (Iran and North Africa), Karez System (China), Roman Aqueducts
• Water Collection: Stepwells (India), Phoenician Cisterns (Malta)
• Water Harvesting: Terraced irrigation systems (Peru), the Acequia Systems (New Mexico)
• Water Retention: Johad (India), Sand Dams (East Africa)
• Water Extraction: Sahduf (Sudan/Egypt) Persian Wheel (Pakistan India)

Submissions should provide a portrait of local geographies and address themes such as water conservation, climate resilience, biodiversity preservation, and/or social cohesion. Ideally, submitted films will also highlight their potential to inspire modern solutions.

Why You Should Participate

By making short films you can inspire, inform, and promote action around water issues and solutions. The Water Film Prize challenges you to explore these ancient water management methods not as historical artifacts, but as blueprints for tomorrow’s innovations. Arid regions face mounting pressures from climate change, migration, and the abandonment of traditionally managed landscapes.