Mentioned in the Quran, Al Kawthar is the river and source of water in paradise where the Prophet (PBUH) will greet the faithful. The actual root of the word, al-Kawthar(k-th-r), means both a material or spiritual abundance.  Indeed, water’s many meanings burst exponentially wherever we follow its floods and streams, its sea and rivers, its swamps and sewers, and its waves and wells.

Wild in our imaginations, and ever so present in our daily lives, water is pervasive and also beyond our control.  From the irrigation systems from over 7,000 years ago to the development of steam power and turbine pumps in the Industrial Revolution just over 200 years ago, water dominates our human history as we have tried to control it, and yet tsunamis, floods, and storms are not ours. Religions, myths and stories all navigate water’s paths and sanctify it.

Now, water perhaps defines many of our crises. Water and climate change are intertwined, and every ecological issue, some say, is a water issue. Water is a pillar of our faiths, a material to fight for, a force that destroys, and yet also a source of play, regeneration and purification.

Nezar Andary
Al Sidr Film Festival Artistic Director