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The Weight of Water: The Human Cost of Climate Crisis

A grieving mother. A flooded football field. A burdened woman. Three emotional stories set in Nepal show how communities are already being impacted by flooding and drought, all made worse by the injustice of climate change and increasing extreme weather events.

  • Neelima Vallangi
    Director
  • Deej Phillips
    Director
  • Neelima Vallangi
    Producer
  • Deej Phillips
    Producer
  • Brandon Kahn
    Editor
  • Boom Post, London
    Audio Post Production
  • Durga Prasad Upadhyay
    Climate Change Advisor
  • Edward Cook
    Composer
  • Saoirse Christopherson
    Sound Designer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Drama, science
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 7 minutes 22 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    30,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    Nepal
  • Language:
    English, Nepali
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, HD 25p, 5.2 surround
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Climate Crisis Film Festival
    Glasgow
    United Kingdom
    November 8, 2021
    Preview
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Neelima Vallangi, Deej Phillips

Neelima Vallangi is a freelance writer & photographer from India, whose stories and images have appeared in reputed publications such as The Guardian, BBC, Smithsonian.com, Al Jazeera English etc. Deeply inspired by the time she spent in the lofty peaks of Himalayas over a decade and witnessing the impacts of climate change in the mountains first hand, she's now dedicatedly covering climate crisis through documentary film.

Deej Phillips shines a light on environmental and humanitarian stories all over the world. Recently, his focus has been to communicate the human cost of the climate crisis and its urgency through his documentaries, which has led to opportunities to talk about his work at events including TEDx in 2020.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Three character-driven human interest stories show the complex ways in which climate change-fuelled flooding and drought intersects with existing societal, economic and infrastructure inequalities. Climate scientists, experts and activists from Nepal provide the necessary context to understand exactly how climate change is wreaking havoc here and what is needed from the
developed world so Nepal can have a secure future as global warming gathers pace.

In the first story, we see Kamala Devi Pathak living in rural Nepal, who faced serious health consequences for 20 years as a result of a lack of water in her remote village. Her story illustrates what lack of water can do to women's health and future, as climate change makes water stress more prevalent in the mid-hills of Nepal.

In the second story, we follow Pipli Youth Club, a sports club in a small town in Nepal. A playground that has played a crucial part in leading the youth towards great success in sports and fostering a sense of community, is now threatened by recurrent flooding. This story illustrates how climate change is exacerbating flooding and the myriad ways flooding affects the lives of people even when no one dies.

In the third story, we listen to the Balami family coming to terms with a shocking tragedy in their picturesque village set in the green hills of Nepal. This story illustrates how climate change induced flash flooding compounds with maladaptation leading to loss of precious life for the most mundane reasons.

The intertwined narratives along with expert exposition highlight the human cost of climate crisis in Nepal with a sharp focus on the compounding nature and localised injustice of this global crisis.